Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1793.12.10]
P'pfel's question broke the stunned silence. While he crouched down to examine the crystal, Aisha checked on Zeph.
After a quick scan, she found Zeph’s physical state stable. He was still unresponsive, though; just lying there, not reacting to her presence.
“Hey, hey, hey! Do you need a Doctor?” she asked, checking his pupils.
He grunted and pushed away her hands.
[Ancient Civilizations] [General Skill] is now [T3] [L6]! (+5)
Aisha helped him to sit up. The center of his chest was still causing him pain, it felt like he had a hole in his torso. Although, he noticed that it wasn’t bothering him as much as it should – having his solar plexus pierced through should cause incapacitating amounts of pain. But strangely, he was able to endure even if the sensation didn’t feel like it was being suppressed.
It was his mind that felt… more resilient, instead. He didn’t have an opportunity to test the mental effects of Willforce Morphon but he guessed it was the cause of the strange phenomenon.
No matter the pain, he was able to stay clear-minded. It was unpleasant still, but he never felt overwhelmed. That… changes things. Pain-trauma immunity? It’s quite big… Thank gods it’s not shutting down the pain – I would have problems with keeping myself alive if I wouldn’t know how bad my injuries were… Or maybe not? he corrected himself, glancing at Aisha as she Diagnosed him. Also, I never learned how to assess my internal injuries through my Mana… Would that even work with my Source Net?
He sighed. In the end, the effect seemed to be straight-up helpful. It would be a shame if he ended up as a screaming mess.
He gently touched the area where Gru surfaced. The bleeding stopped long ago and he could see that the now-closed opening wasn’t that big, maybe four centimeters wide. Gru’s body backed inside after spitting out the crystal, stitching the wound as usual. Zeph could feel something strange under the clotted blood, though.
“Can we speak safely here?” he asked, looking around. The room was big but mostly empty. There were no windows on the almost black, metallic walls. Light sources were set along the corners of the ceiling. Only his bed – a metal frame with leather-covered cushion – and two wooden tables were present.
“Yes, I have a deal with the Tower,” she stated confidently. “So, you finally noticed?”
Instead of answering, he mentally prompted Gru. “Did you grow yourself a mouth or something?”
“Gre,” a deadpan vibration answered. “Ghaar!”
“Oh!” they simultaneously exclaimed in excitement. “Well, I suppose that’s one problem less for us, then,” Zeph commented thoughtfully. If he kept his Veil away from the area, Gru would be able to form his own for the first time.
“I am guessing that it’s not a one-time event. This funnel’s main function is to expel the Manasolids, not your Mana, isn’t it?” Aisha asked, eyeing the Gremling who was finishing to clean off the crystal from blood and mucus.
“Gra!” it confirmed.
“A shame you had to sacrifice so many roots to form it, though,” Zeph commented after noticing that only around half of Gru’s appendages were moving back into place, helping with the internal bleeding and stitching small injuries.
It was an easy observation – his whole body was connected to his Soul, so the empty spaces were taken by Gru. Zeph was proficient enough in Soul perception now to be able to see it clearly, especially after Willforce started to circulate through both his body and Soul, strengthening his sense of self by allowing them to interact in new ways.
“Geh,” it shrugged mentally. ‘They will regrow,’ was the message.
He nodded and concentrated inwards once more.
Gru’s funnel was connected to the end of Zeph’s sternum. Somehow, the damage to the nerves in his solar plexus wasn’t influencing his body much. He spent a minute trying to understand better what changed anatomically in that area. Aisha crossed her arms and waited impatiently for him to finish.
“It is, indeed, a Manasolid,” finally came the verdict. They turned to the professor, now holding the cleaned-up, whitish, and opaque crystal in his hand. It was roughly spherical but with small octagonal prisms of different sizes sticking out from the surface. They were flat at the top, so the overall shape was close to a polyhedron. It was maybe three centimeters in diameter, easily fitting in the Gremling’s hand. “A lesser one, but of a pure kind. Most probably with a Hydrargyrum base,” he continued, throwing technical terms Zeph didn’t have a chance to understand, while trying to see through it by raising it to the light.
“That doesn’t tell me much,” Zeph dryly commented. “Besides, isn’t it an egg, or something like that?” he asked, directing the question more to Gru.
“Grrrah,” it vibrated in indifference. It was his first time, too, so he didn’t know more than them about the strange thingy. He didn’t care about it overmuch, anyway.
“Possible, but checking it would be problematic. Mana-scanning doesn’t work on Manasolids, so the insides are a mystery. Whichever it is, you are quite rich right now,” the professor explained, handing him the white crystal. “Do not push any Mana into it! Keep the density stable,” he warned.
Zeph’s eyebrows raised, as he took the stone. It was very light… almost weightless, actually. He expected a solid matter but was met with the strangest of feelings as the perfectly flat surfaces frictionlessly skidded on the skin of his hand. He had to wedge his fingers in between the prisms to keep the crystal still. Also, he had problems with discerning the temperature of the object – the sensation was changing minutely every second. His Mana wasn’t penetrating inside in any capacity – it seemed to just bounce back from the surface.
He gently threw it up. After raising above his head in an erratic movement, it started to slowly fall back, dancing in the air like a snowflake and rotating to the rhythm of the motions.
“Rich how? And please explain what it is in simple terms. I know the Cir words, but your sentences don’t make much sense,” he said, as the crystal landed back on his hand.
The professor huffed in displeasure as Aisha decided to provide some answers.
“Manasolids are… kind of hard to explain. When Mana density goes above certain thresholds, there is a chance for it to start circulating in semi-stable patterns. If matter compatible with them is trapped inside, it starts to stabilize further and grow as a crystal…” she started, struggling with her words.
“Haaa,” P’pfel sighed loudly. “Leave the explanation to me, Zora,” he said with resignation, crossing his arms. “As a Manacaster, you should already know that a consistent Mana-flow tends to keep its shape if uninterrupted, producing forces dependent on the shape, right? But certain flow-patterns work more like oscillators – they produce self-stabilizing forces, thus being able to absorb external perturbations by altering their movement pattern to a degree. But they keep wobbling around the base pattern like a pendulum.” Zeph nodded in understanding, it sounded like a negative feedback loop, an oscillator alright. “We theorize the same happens on a microscopic scale. The difference is that if those patterns meet matter with compatible symmetry – and I am not going to explain that in more detail; go to an academy or something – the overall structure starts to interact with physicality, too. The effect changes from semi-stable energy flow to crystal-stable matter placement, or so-called solid Mana-flow.”
Oh wow, they already know about atomic orbital symmetry? Zeph was impressed a little. Or, more probably, it’s just crystallography applied to all—
“In case of this Manasolid,” the Gremling interrupted his musings, seeing as he didn’t have questions, “there is no admixture of Magicules. Pure Manasolids are rare. The only possible material base for it, that we had contact with, is Hydrargyrum,” he finished in a better mood, happy that Zeph was following his shortened explanation.
“Practically speaking,” Aisha started, deciding it was time to put things into perspective, “taking into account the size of the crystal, you are in a possession of an equivalent of a daily Mana production of an optimized, standard Manacaster at level 100. Pre-evolution level 100, that is.” Seeing his blank look, she sighed and elaborated. “Around 300 million Mana. It should be worth around 300 000 gold.”
He blinked at the numbers, then tilted his head. “That doesn’t sound like much, so how is it worth so much? And what the fuck is optimized, standard, pre-evolution Manacaster?”
“Don’t look at the numbers, look at the applications,” berated the professor. “You can force it to destabilize and release the Mana in a span of a few seconds, if you set the environment right,” he grinned, noticing Zeph’s shock. “Yes, it would be enough to force a strata-two enchantment to work. Maybe even a strata-three…”
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“And pure Manasolids are the most efficient,” Aisha added. “To answer your previous question – standard means without level resets or achievements and modifications; optimized Manacaster means at least 400 in Intuition and Willpower each; pre-evolution means before you allow the class change. Got it?” she smirked.
He shook his head. “Give me a second…” there was a lot to unpack. First doubts started to surface almost immediately, though. “Are you trying to tell me, that I am holding a Mana bomb in my hand?!”
“Eh, in this Mana density you would have to try really hard to start the dissipation process,” the Gremling shrugged, removing his glasses. “Your loss. But Manasolids are notoriously resilient to higher densities.”
Right, we are in a compression chamber… haah. “I hope we don’t have to pay some ridiculous money for using this room? Anyway, how are we going to transport it outside? Or rather, will it explode there?”
“Nah, it should take around an hour for it to dissipate outside, so nothing life-threatening. We would need a compression box, though…” the Gremling said, looking at Aisha.
“Go get it. It should be included in the deal,” Aisha said, shooing him in the direction of the doors.
The guy shrugged and walked to the exit. The chamber had airlock double-doors, as it turned out. Or should they be called Manalock doors?
“It cost us nothing. I am actually grateful you found a use for this facility,” Aisha explained as the doors closed. “I was scammed with one of the rewards – the contract only allows me to use it for personal matters. You can guess how helpful it was for me after I learned for what purposes it can be used for,” she smiled ruefully. “I am not a crafter by any means… You still owe me a favor for it, though,” she said in a sweet voice.
“Yea, sure. As long as you don’t extort me,” he flatly said.
“Graaau!” the vibration suggested.
“Only if you can pay for it. The moment they realize that we need the chamber their price will raise. Well, you shouldn’t have problems with that if you sell the gem…”
“I am not so sure about that,” Zeph slowly said, looking intensely at the crystal. “I really think it’s some kind of an egg. Even if the amount of Mana would be lethal if it started to dissipate inside someone too quickly… You know, Garuans have to have a method of reproduction.”
“Graaa,” it confirmed wisely. Still knowing nothing about the process.
“Do what you want. Good luck with examining it,” she said with mirth, unaware of Zeph’s thoughts.
Opaque or not, Mana-proof or not, it was allowing the light to pass through to some degree. Spectrophotometry would be his first choice to test if something was hidden inside, but crystallography had a number of methods to assess the internal structure of crystals as well - even down to the atomic level. He was more worried that he would need a sample to compare. Even creating the necessary equipment looked less strenuous. He doubted the deal from the North Tarak would cover the costs of buying a real Manasolid.
But if he could make one himself…
“By the way, it sounds like producing a Manasolid is quite easy? You just need time, Mana density, and appropriate… gasses, I guess, in the vicinity?”
“Ah, it certainly is, until you want to keep it solid,” she smirked. “Growing them is easy, technically. Stopping their growth without triggering the dissipation? We don’t even understand the whole process; the success rate is below one to million. You either grow them on the side of strategic locations or quickly transport them to dissipate and power up whatever construct was prepared beforehand. I believe that I don’t have to explain how hazardous such a job is? Mana poisoning is no joke after you really oversaturate – it takes one mistake on the dissipation speed calculation.”
She sounded very serious but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling widely. “That is some good news, then!”
He froze after comprehending what he just said. Or rather, indicated.
She looked at him strangely, and he looked away. “Anyway! Let’s prepare for departure,” he decided to change the topic, looking around in search of his armor…
Huh, my armor? the realization hit him, as he looked down at his bare chest.
Zeph slowly raised his gaze up at Aisha, and it was her turn to avoid eye contact.
“What did you do?” he asked after a moment of silence.
She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. “Well…” she shot a glance at him, then decided to bent down instead of answering, keeping a stiff smile on her face. From below his bed, a torn mess of an armor emerged, still dripping with a green fluid. “I… didn’t really have a choice…”
He facepalmed.
~~~
The streets of Lurona city were quite complicated. The terraces were present here, too, but formed more of the backbone of the city structure, instead of being just add-ons to the buildings. High-speed lanes for runners were prioritized; the multi-layered terraces made from stone and brick grew around them, strengthening the overall stability of the three-dimensional maze. The buildings themselves were at least three stories high, but each floor was more than four meters high. The free space on each was used to add decorations and flair, oftentimes being filled with multi-colored baldachins or sculptures – made from stone, wood, or metal – placed on half-columns running along the walls. Murals, carvings, and other adornments were placed between brass, silver, and blackish-metal pipes and plates.
The buildings were made from yellow stone, reddish brick, or brass, with an occasional metal frame. Most of them had a dome for a roof, following the trend of being much too high. The lowest streets were actually just compacted, yellow-red soil. The atmosphere of the place was closer to a tropical country, so Zeph wasn’t that surprised.
Metal ropes were set in a complicated net between all of that, but he was sure none of them were transferring Mana, or electricity for that matter – their technology would be ways away if that was possible. As such, their function was a mystery for him.
It was almost like an ancient Egypt meeting the Hindu, right after a steampunk technological revolution took place. More interestingly, the local flora looked more like taken from a temperate climate, than a tropical or Mediterranean one.
Zeph was gathering quite a lot of attention from the passersby. Even ignoring his height and facial hair, he was hugging his mangled upper armor like his last child that was on the brink of death.
Which wasn’t all that far from the truth.
Gru’s chemical communication allowed them to gather the Phleya from the floor, or at least the part of it that was still alive, and temporally seal the micro-canals in the broken armor. Aisha even bent it back into shape, more or less, but it was far from a usable state, so he had to carry it.
Who would have thought it would end up like that outside of a fight. On the other hand, Zeph would prefer to not be inside when it met similar destiny next time. At least it was a worthwhile test of its regenerative properties. Though, Aisha suggested he should find a specialized blacksmith to help with that part.
They were strolling on the lowest level in a direction of the equivalent of a taxi rank. They were in one of the most densely populated parts of the city right now.
It was quite cold, probably around five Celsius, despite the fact that the city suggested a warmer climate. It was enough to produce white clouds when breathing out.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons people are looking at us strangely? Zeph thought with realization. He was wearing only a light shirt they borrowed from the tower, but he couldn’t care less about the temperature – it actually made his chest ache less. Aisha was, as always, defiant in the face of any temperature change, steaming slightly. Only the Gremling had a warm coat on himself.
Fuck it, that’s definitely the main reason, he thought, sighing internally.
It took them a good hour to find a wagon that could take them outside of the main proper that formed around the Blackwind Tower.
Yes, Towers had enough influence to even form their own city districts. It wasn’t even that surprising, taking into account that the Shihan of Mana Arts – or Archam, as Zeph preferred to call the position, depending on the dialect one wanted to use; the Rui version sounded more familiar to Zeph than the Laiu – was present here. He was an equivalent of an Archmage and the head of the continental cluster of Blackwind Towers. Supposedly, he was creating more ‘magical’ inventions than the Manacasters of one whole tower did. Not to mention, he was basically a mass-destruction weapon equivalent.
A shame the towers kept a neutral stance in the political struggles, even between races.
The ride took them closer to the shore, where the buildings started to peter out. It was, after all, the poorer part of the city.
Zeph still had problems with understanding this structure. If poorer people were closer to the city center, then what of the farmers outside the walls? Were they rich?
The cityscape started to resemble North Tarak more and more as they got closer to their destination. The buildings became spacer, lower, and more dilapidated after each cross-street they passed. Well, dilapidated was a strong word – the buildings just lacked the opulence and size of the ones near the Tower, they were still high – at least three stories high – and the place was clean. The materials were worse, though. He could no longer spot metal frameworks or brick, but much more wood was present.
After some time, even the wooden terraces disappeared. A village, inside the city. Farms started to show up, overpopulated with Rakes in most cases. The emergency food source of the city, invisible from the skies because of the layered structures that kept the animals and vegetation compacted.
Finally, they stopped before a somehow large building. It only had two floors but took up quite an area.
Aisha jumped out first, guiding them. A small, warm smile suggested she knew the place for a long time.
She knocked on the big double doors. After a moment of silence, the left wing opened slightly outwards and an older woman peeked outside.
She measured them with a scrutinizing gaze, squinting her eyes, before her strict face morphed into a visage of surprise.
“Zora,” she said in a wavering voice. “It’s you! You finally came back!” she exclaimed happily, slowly coming closer and hugging Aisha with her thin arms.
“Yes, I’m back,” she answered warmly, returning the hug.
“Welcome home,” the old woman said, and small tears could be seen in the corners of her eyes as she looked up at her face.
The heartwarming scene was disrupted by a young girl’s voice coming from above.
“It’s Aisha! OOOH! And a Gremiling! And a short hobo! He has an armor…” her voice drifted away, as she sprinted away. Zeph wasn’t even able to see her face before she disappeared from the window.
He took a step back, having a bad premonition. He looked at Aisha, then at P’pfel, who was also backing up from the entrance. The sound of multiple light steps could be heard from the interior of the building, the high-pitched shouts raising in volume with each second. The stampede was coming.
“Welcome to your temporary abode,” said Aisha, looking back with an impish grin, as a horde of kids charged from behind.
He would run, but not only would that be immature, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself after. Instead, he closed his eyes for a moment, accepting the situation.
Moving to the side, he exchanged the ‘Lesser Force weave’ for ‘Lesser Light reflection’ in his Matrix Spell list and used it alongside the ‘Mana masking’ to hide away.
The Gremling was panicking.
Forgive me, teacher!
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