Construction actually went much smoother than I expected for the remainder of the cableway, in large part due to Zeb having anticipated I'd need the workers for more than one season, so I essentially had access to a lot of labor until the cableway was finished. That sped things up a lot, since I could direct their work while I built out the bullwheel and it's drive using stirling engines. By mid-summer, the whole thing was ready to test.
While it wasn't without some hiccups, after two weeks of troubleshooting and some minor changes, the cableway was ready for some initial tests. So, I started tests by loading rocks into the carriers on the line. While I was initially nervous, after a few hours without a problem with dozens of carriers on the line having made two round trips, I started to get less worried.
After a few more days of similar tests, I considered it safe enough to ride along myself, which ended up being quite the interesting experience. While most of the view was obscured by trees flanking the lift, higher up the mountain the lift rises higher than the trees to help prevent the copious snowfall from damaging the cableway. As a result, I got a pretty neat view for the last half-mile or so, overlooking the valley where our city and two villages are located.
From here, it's very clear that we've actually done an incredible amount of work, thinking back on what the valley was decades ago. From the artificial tidepool, the sea wall, the salt evaporation ponds, and a few mechanical facilities by the ocean, then to the fields flanking the road to the city, the research facility, and the terraces along part of the valley, and even further up where the dam is and the villages are located with their own fields cleared. It's a lot to take in, and it's a hard view to see normally.
Once I made it up to the top, I took two hours, went and grabbed a container of crystal slag, and rode the cableway back down. Afterwards, I took another three days inspecting the cable and all the pylons for any points of concern before deciding that the whole thing was ready for use. The 8-foot crystal will be done growing at the start of fall, so I decided I could use the cableway to start sending down the spare crystal slag that I won't need.
Since I'll need more facility workers anyway to start handling mana crystal components moving forward, I decided that I should take the time to hire them now, and have them help me move the material as their first job. They, just like all the other demons working in the research facility, were required to move to the facility, and keep everything confidential. Ultimately, the process of moving crystal slag took just over 12 days, and most of that time was actually manual transport to either end of the cableway. I had a demon at either end doing loading and unloading, and then a few that would transport the material to and from either station.
Then, after we had completed that task, I informed them that we'd be hauling the 8-foot crystal down the mountain manually in a few days. For good measure though, I also asked Zaka and one of the demon gorillas to help, given their exceptional strength. Just like previously, my plan is to extract the crystal, then coat it in a layer of stone so that we can more safely transport it. Though I did think of something interesting that I'll try and test with a smaller crystal after we move the big one down to the old bathhouse.
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Thankfully, moving the crystal down to the bathhouse went off without a hitch, and before long, you could feel the familiar warmth spread back into the city, as it had before the mana surge broke all our surface crystals. It's almost tempting to leave it here and work on a new crystal instead, given how nice it feels, but that's just asking to waste all this material again if another mana surge occurs. So, while it pains me to do so, after winter ends, I'll be removing it from the bathhouse to continue growing it.
As for the thing that I wanted to test, it came out to be a failure. I had tested on one of our smaller 2-foot crystals whether or not my thermal regulation would let me pull directly from large mana crystals. The result was far worse than I had imagined would be the worst case. I had thought, at worst, maybe I'd get shocked, or feel some pain, but that would be it. Instead, I seem to have damaged my ability to store mana slightly. As soon as I noticed what was happening I pulled away from the crystal.
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In short, my thermal regulation didn't actually prevent some other form of damage, but it did help prevent me from feeling the heat which would probably have normally been hot enough to indicate I was being hurt. Since I essentially had an unlimited supply of mana, I could keep up with whatever heat was building up in my body as a result of the massive surplus of mana. It did not, however, prevent whatever in my body that handles mana from getting damaged.
Level: 20
HP: 4769/4769
MP: 2211/2211 (2289)
Traits: Mana Affinity, Earth Manipulation, Improved Dexterity, Heat Resistance, Partial Sleep
Magic: Improved Stone Shaping, Tectonic Sense, Improved Earth Spike, Thermal Hands, Pulverize, Thermal Regulation
I should normally, at my current level, have 2289 maximum mana, but instead, it's sitting at 2211. I'll be keeping a close eye on it, to see if it heals, or if I've irrevocably damaged my mana supply. I don't regret the test though, since the positive payoff that could have occurred would have been significant. If thermal regulation had prevented any injury in the matter, I could have directly wielded an extreme amount of mana at a time, which would have let me do all kinds of things that would normally be impossible.
On a lighter note, the dwarves have completed their ship already, and there is still an entire season before they head out. So, while quite a few of them are just relaxing, more are working than previously, trying to earn a bit more money for themselves before they head out. Since so many things are ahead of schedule, I'm going to talk with Zaka about trying some new imp summoning ideas.
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Zaka was surprisingly opposed to a lot of my ideas for imp summoning. After some discussion, I understood why, though I didn't agree with it fully. He has better memories of being an imp than most of the demons on the island even though his memories of it are older than others. While they're still somewhat blurry, he remembers being in a small cage being fed minimal scraps for what probably equates to a few weeks before he became a goblin.
That description alone makes me think that, indeed, without the fight or flight survival instinct, many of the imps would actually choose to prestige at least once before becoming a goblin, or even something more. However, he seems to have some trauma related to being trapped in a small cage with minimal interaction. I find it quite illogical though that he then decides that the better alternative is a fight to the death with other imps, though he does value individual freedom quite a bit, which is probably also a consequence of those traumatic memories.
If we get an opportunity to talk to other demons from the demon continent at some point, I'd be very interested in seeing what their actual culture looks like. Zaka lived in it for a minimal time before coming here, so while he knows some of it, our culture is probably significantly distinct from theirs.
I'm beholden to all of his demands, since he's the only summoning source we have. I eventually convinced him to let me proceed with some imp summoning tests, though getting things prepared for them is going to take a while. In order to get him to agree to some isolation related tests, I had to also agree to make the conditions exceptionally comfortable for the imps. Meaning they're essentially getting summoned in a room with as much space as a goblin would get in an apartment, and they'll be provided more food than they need, as well as barred windows to see other imps and/or whoever is going to be watching them around the clock to make sure they have enough food.
These stipulations do remove one important aspect of the test that I wanted to do, which was related to full isolation. My concern is that if the imps see each other evolve, it'll influence them to choose to evolve as well, or seeing other, bigger demons might also cause the same desire. Though I suppose we actually do want them to evolve quicker on balance, so that probably isn't a big problem.
So, for our first test, I want to excavate an area underground where we can have 12 fairly large chambers surrounding a central stairway where we can watch them. Each chamber will also have the ability to see into the other chambers in a few places, and we'll provide plenty of food through a lockable flap into the chambers. Thankfully, Zaka didn't also demand that we provide them with plates or anything, saying "They're still imps, they eat each other on the floor, they can eat provided food there too."