Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1793.12.24]

It wasn’t an easy choice at all.

Because he wanted to prepare early for the future acquisition of an Advanced Magicule contamination, as it was the only way to not waste his Alloy contamination when he finally finds Makrun meant to replace the Earth’s material in Source Net and Gru, this choice wasn’t just about strengths and weaknesses of the materials. Or how the armor would impact his fighting style. It was about his future and development.

After thinking about it for a moment, Zeph decided that the implants had the biggest impact on his near and far future. A few different methods of acquiring a contamination existed but implants, or body modifications in general, were the most permanent and influential. An implant caused Soul contamination, that contamination produced Magicules, Magicules determined what implants his body could accept, and thus the first feedback loop ended. To achieve higher contamination levels, he would need certain body upgrades to fuel and survive such a change, that’s how the second feedback loop started.

He could take any mechanical implant he wanted, theoretically. In reality, the choice was somewhat impaired by his current Soul contamination – some implants wouldn’t work in certain Magicule environments, some body upgrades would become obsolete, and certain combinations of Magicules could wreak havoc in his body.

Also, with the future ‘generalized purpose contamination’, taking a wrong implant would not only be a waste of UP but also could actually harm his prospects. On the other hand, if he played for the future contamination only, he would not only have a wholly compatible body beforehand but also would gain a chance to upgrade the old implants for better versions without paying much UP.

‘What he wanted to become?’ was the most important question here. Some body upgrades were expected, some even inevitable, if he wanted to be able to survive in the highest Mana densities. PE and Mana manipulation could support him only that far. One thing was for sure – he refused to follow the way of Energy. Most people were ending up replacing parts of their bodies’ physical functionality with Mana constructs – the Energy Enhancements. It was the easiest way to adapt to higher Mana density, but also one with a sad side effect – gaining dependency on ambient Mana density. But Zeph would never abandon his immunity to Manaless environments. It was a must-have in order to travel beyond Mana-inflicted worlds, after all.

Most implants were more dependent on Mana generation but he had to be careful there too.

But other body upgrades, especially the genetic ones… Zeph wasn’t sure how far he would dare to stray from being a human. It wasn’t just a question of sentimentality or psychological comfort; the change could very well get rid of his race Traits. Maybe even influence the unique Will all Earth’s humans possessed.

He definitely needed more information before even thinking of getting an upgrade of this type.

The current dilemma was difficult for a similar reason. Zeph lacked information about all the consequences of his choice.

Adatium had the potential to make him a metal-specialized Manacaster and crafter. Even if he stayed with the Generalist Class or its derivate, his implants and contamination would give him a big boost in that regard. It would also mean his overall mass would raise, even if only because of implants or upgrades he would have to take before fusing the contaminations. His body would probably become more durable, too. But to use his body properly, he would have to invest more in Power, especially if he wanted to keep his momentum-and-inertia fighting style. Being stationary, no matter how durable, was just asking for trouble. The only truly interesting property of the material—and the following combination of contaminations—was compatibility with the Makrun. But it was merely a saving grace – the main reason the material was even worked out by the Blacksmith.

I would have to compensate for a lot… mobility, Mana defenses, strengthening my whole body to support heavy implants… Yea, it would be bothersome. All that for being incredibly tanky and having some crafting opportunities. Sounds like a bad idea.

He mentally crossed out Adatium from his option list. It had some potential, but it would lead him to a tight corner later on. At least from what he could understand. Ghrughah was quite powerful with a similar ‘build’, but the giant’s physique negated some of the problems by itself. PE could only enhance what already existed physically, so he would have to balance his body by himself.

The Obsydian-ish material was more interesting. He would, most probably, be able to implement all kinds of esoteric physical effects to strengthen his gear. The cost of resupplying the material would be high but paled in comparison to the armor’s versatility. An ability of fast regeneration and enhanced reshaping were the most suitable properties in a survival environment, playing greatly into what he needed and wanted to do in the future. Most of the initial implants included strengthening three of his senses, which synergized neatly with the survival application of the armor.

In the future, he could become a Manacaster with vast and very unpredictable affinities. Amorphous materials, liquified matter, even crystals… when it comes to Earth’s physical science, this one probably had the best potential. His gear, implants, and contamination would cover both the physical and Mana-related defenses, additionally guaranteeing fast recovery rates. A very versatile ‘build’. Not to mention, his Space/life contamination would be finally put to good use and rise once again. He had huge hopes for it, as it worked well with Shaman’s Spells and Skills. On the other hand, though… the material wouldn’t work with Makrun at all, meaning he would have to balance the two very different sets of body upgrades and contaminations. The first one would be responsible for the most fundamental ability in this world – internal Mana manipulation from the Makrun-driven Source Net; and the second one for his survivability. And the two would certainly not like each other, maybe even restricting body upgrades’ options. The second problem was in the dependency on the instable isotope. That should change after fusion, of course, but until then, he would need to make sure to have the necessary materials on himself at all times. Thankfully, even if he was left with no repair materials, he should have a few weeks before his armor stopped working, and probably a few months before he could no longer use its parts for modulation.

That reminded him of Makani’s arrival. He was a little irritated by the long wait, because without learning the ‘proper’ way of ‘Ambient Mana channeling’ he wouldn’t be able to supplement the modulation with external Magicules that would form in the armor. The cursed Skill was still at level 99, but he didn’t have a month to read from it to try learning that way.

He really hoped getting a hang of it would come easy after some explanations.

The last option, the Fullerene complex, was headache-including. Ghrughah didn’t joke when he said it was a problematic one – besides being a mystery on many fronts, it was a highly specialized material. It would do for a decent armor, but despite theoretically higher scoring in physical properties, it would actually be worse than the Obsidian armor. Its high flexibility meant nothing besides minimally better maneuverability. Its Mana-resistance was decent, but the small vulnerability to acids and alkali was a huge weakness in his book. At least he didn’t have to worry about temperatures – with Phleya inside and his Class specification, it would just give him more opportunities for training energy transfer and transformation techniques.

As a result, he would have to make sure to learn how to use the armor properly. The blow could easily come at an angle that could effortlessly break armor’s scales – like a straight hit just nicking his shoulder, as it would come at an angle almost parallel to the armor’s surface. Additional plating was a necessity, as well as training on how to use it efficiently. Worse yet, none of his companions was a specialist in using such gear. Even Ghrughah wasn’t sure where to put the plating for optimal usage. He would have to find someone proficient in using armors to help them.

As for what it brought for the future, it was the best choice. The biological nature of the material resulted in implant compatibility so high, they would become more of biological implants than mechanical. The balance between different sets of implants wouldn’t matter – he could modify a part of it to work with Makrun while still keeping the basic composition the same. Of course, full compatibility wasn’t assured, but he just needed to make sure the different sets of implants and contaminations weren’t interfering with each other.

This versatility also translated into his future Advanced contamination. He could even abuse his Alloy contamination to raise a few more modulated contaminations, all rooted in the Fullerene, effectively excluding the Alloy from the fusion without wasting it and widening his prospects by an unprecedented margin. Well… the margin limited to very specific metals and crystals. He wasn’t deluding himself in that regard. The material had a potential to work with any metal or crystalline superstructure, but not with all of them at once. He would have to choose the ones that worked best for him, limiting the scope of Advanced contamination’s Magicules usability.

Or maybe not.

If it really is a universal material… what if I concentrate on its pure form, the fundamental superstructure? He mused, stroking his beard. Its ‘Advanced contamination’ should preserve some of its universal properties, right?

He closed the Interface and turned to Ghrughah. “In the future, is it possible to use Fullerene basic structure in fusion?” he asked without preamble.

“No, if you want to have any compatibility with metals. Its basic form is just a biological material, overly compatible with crystals, but nothing more. It’s the reason I never proposed such a version for modulation – it just can’t be done.”

“That’s a problem… If the contamination could keep its metal-bonding properties… Didn’t you find any variant that could at least be close to that?”

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“No, but you forgot about something. I have no idea how your esoteric contamination can influence the ‘alloy’. Double so for the properties of the Advanced contamination – it should inherit that property in some way,” the Blacksmith crossed his arms. “If you don’t want to talk about it, I can understand. But without even basic information, don’t expect me to work out all the possibilities. It could as well be the answer to your dilemma. Or something different altogether. You will have to test it by yourself.”

“You mad?” Zeph also crossed his arms, too. “I have all the right to keep it to myself. Don’t try to play me with what theoretically you could infer from this information.”

The giant sighed, slumping forward. “That doesn’t matter. I will help wherever needed until you trust me enough. But I refuse to work without the necessary knowledge.” He looked at Zeph with a serious face. “Next time you come to me for help, you will have to uncover everything. Wandering in the dark does nothing for me. Also, any tutelage outside of our deal will cost you. Don’t expect me to work for free. Any questions about that material’s variants will be considered as such until you explain everything.”

“Fair enough,” Zeph nodded, relaxing slightly. “How much time do you need to make armor from Ferrum Obsidian and Planaria Ferrium Fullerene?”

“Two days both. I’ve already prepared my equipment to work efficiently on the parts.”

“Well, we need to see if the Fullerene is safe, first. A shame it came out only now…”

One could say many things about Ghrughah, but the old geezer was good at reading people. Too good, even. He immediately caught up the meaning behind Zeph’s words. “If you are ready for a more… painful experience, we can try testing the Fullerene in hours instead of days, you know?” the Blacksmith said hesitantly.

Zeph glanced at his neutral face, knowing full well that it was as much a warning as a proposition. “Self-harm…” he guessed from Blacksmith’s reaction. “What are possible consequences of it? Also, we do have access to quite overpowered anesthetics, don’t we?”

Ghrughah shook his head, avoiding eye contact. “The pain would come later, nothing an anesthetic can help with. Also, you need to be conscious to see the Interface report, so putting you into a prolonged slumber is not an option. The method…” he sighed heavily, evidently not liking the idea. “The method would require us to replace a big part of your skull. It’s the easiest bone to switch back, and according to Pavail’s experiments, the only safe method of forcing a fast Soul reaction to the presence of the Fullerene implant.” The giant looked down at him, trying to read his face. “It isn’t risky in itself. But the pain is something else… some of the animals killed themselves shortly after waking up. It would be a traumatic experience, and there is a high risk of Soul-wounding yourself if you are not ready for it. Which, as you should already know, will also put me and Pavail in jeopardy. Are you really that short on time? You just need to wait for two days before the final decision.”

“No, no, I’m not that desperate,” Zeph shook his head vehemently. He still wasn’t keen on testing his pain tolerance just for knowledge’s sake, and the procedure could as well incapacitate him for a day or two, rendering the whole affair pointless. “We have eight days before the New Year… The four days left after you finish the armor aren’t enough for a meaningful trip into the wilderness,” he concluded depressingly, mumbling to himself. He really wanted to see the New Year’s celebrations, so there was no other way, it seemed. “I guess, I will have to leave the trip for next year,” he sighed in resignation.

He scratched his cheek, reorganizing his schedule accordingly. The next minute, he spent thinking about his two options. “Hmmm… There is one thing I can do to simplify the problem… What would be the price for crafting information of both materials? Adatium isn’t cutting it.”

Ghrughah nodded in approval. “Checking what implants are available at the Exchange is not a bad idea. Those two materials aren’t exactly useful for the same upgrades, though.”

Zeph waved him off. “I just want to see how they measure against options I already have. Comparing them directly is a little beside the point. But I don’t want to finish with subpar implants just because I had to use a version utilizing our material.”

The Blacksmith’s brow raised. “I may have underestimated what you have access to… a little. If you want production methods and information for both, I will just ask for one major invention. Something on the level of that aerocraft. It would be nice if it touched upon Biology.”

“Can do. Okay, show me the details, and let’s deal with the testing implant.”

Zeph was given two metal suitcases containing all necessary data about the two materials, and a file of documents detailing the known properties of all three. A cost summary was also included, so Zeph read it while waiting for the giant as he cleaned the workbench and secured the samples.

Zeph grimaced after seeing the numbers. That amount of money would put him in Blacksmith’s debt for at least two years. A staggering 700 000 gold for all of Ghrughah’s work until now, which amounted to only three selected alloys in the end. No wonder almost no one used similar methods to direct their contaminations’ development, research was a money sink. And the giant took almost nothing for his labor and expertise. It was all the cost of component materials, Mana, and constructing necessary devices. The armor itself would cost either around 400 000 gold if made from the Obsidian, or around 600 000 if he chose the Fullerene. The prices of possible implants fluctuated wildly but were never lower than 50 000 gold.

Even if I buy all the implants at the Exchange, it would still be more than one million gold… I was prepared mentally, but seeing the bill is just depressing, he sighed depressingly once more. All because of the poor logistics, too. Those component materials should cost two orders of magnitude less, but, of course, no one is mass-producing them. Ugh… the rare carbon-based ones are the worst…

He looked away with disgust. He would need to make sure their Guild’s resource gathering wouldn’t end up like this.

Hmmm, it would indeed be around two years. Assuming half of my inventions would sell well, and taking into account Kwan’s statistical data on the market prices, I would need to create at least eight products. Kwan’s people are already recreating the LEDs and batteries, and mercenaries’ groups are interested in them, so that’s one less venture. Well, we don’t have materials to create long-lasting battery models yet, but it should be enough for now… he mused, trying to estimate how much time he would need to invest in his research. The deal he made with Kwan in North Tarak stated that every three months she had to release one of his inventions. If only he could convince her to speed up the schedule, he would be able to acquire the sum much faster.

She wouldn’t earn much from it, though. It won’t be easy, he sighed once again. But the toy plane would make for a perfect arcade machine in her entertainment center… Not sure how much money that would produce, though…

He decided to consult Aisha and Kwan soon. It was hard to estimate his future revenue, even with the statistical data.

“Do you know what kind of testing implant you want? Replacing the last bone of your foot’s toe should do the trick,” the Blacksmith suddenly said, only melted Fullerene visible on the workbench.

“I am not sure,” Zeph answered truthfully. “Isn’t there an easy one that could also be functional?”

“It’s a tall order with how fragile the material can be. Normally, I would suggest replacing a fingernail, but…”

“Oh, you reminded me of something! Can you make a needle from it?”

“Eh, not really. Because of its planar structure, the best I could do is layering it upward. Bending is heavily restricted, you see. Otherwise, I would have proposed cylindrical substructures to replace armor’s scales to get rid of its weakness to non-perpendicular forces. The needle would break apart as soon as you put any force to its side.”

A shame… Though, I am sure P’pfel finished upgrading my under-nail micro-explosives, so it was a redundant idea anyway… “I don’t care, then. Even an eyelid needs lateral durability.” He shrugged.

“A small bone it is, then,” the giant concluded, walking away to find the necessary tools.

It didn’t take even an hour to finish the small bone implant. The material was already melted, so Ghrughah just made a small mold and quickly hardened and tempered the small piece of the ‘alloy’, his Skills working overtime to speed up necessary steps. For such a small sample, though, it wasn’t even straining for him. Although, he used up quite an amount of unknown substances to isolate it from the air at each step.

At least Zeph now had a confirmation that it wasn’t a higher-stratum material.

The process was almost alien for Zeph, even if he knew how hardening and tempering of steel should look like. It looked more like a chemical treatment than a thermal one, and there were much too many steps. He was also wondering how in hell the carbon fullerene complexes stayed intact.

Were they reformed when the material was cooling down, or what? He was sure that the fullerene structure should just fall apart when the material melted. Though, the answer was probably in one of his suitcases.

The final product would have to be ground into a proper shape later on but Pavail had to scan Zeph’s bones first to make sure it wouldn’t cause problems.

The Blacksmith quickly cooled down the rest of the ‘alloy’, hid all of the samples deeper in the workshop, and returned with something suspiciously similar to an oversized toolbox.

Zeph followed after him without a word. On the ground level of the hall, Ghrughah surprised him by opening a hidden door right next to the staircase. Tapping a wall was all he had to do.

“Next time, try service corridors instead of public ones,” he said, laughing slightly. “Just ask the clerk in the lobby.”

“You should have told me earlier,” Zeph replied grumpily.

“They were finished yesterday,” he said more seriously, stepping inside.

The door closed behind them without a sound. Bare, metallic walls were lighted dimly by a blue light coming from indentations in the ceiling. Even the omnipresent pipes were absent here. Similar to the rest of the floor, the corridor was big enough to comfortably accommodate the giant.

A few turns later, they found a staircase and started ascending. After a few minutes, they entered the backroom of the Production and Security Management office located at the first basement level. The employees greeted them shortly but otherwise ignored their presence.

The office wasn’t anything interesting – just stacks of records neatly arranged on the shelves and four people fighting with the paperwork. Beside the clockwork-like decorations on the walls, the decor, furniture, and employees’ uniforms were all kept in the style of Kwan’s hotel. It was the official face of the Department, after all.

Zeph left the two metal suitcases in the hands of one of the people. They would deliver them to his quarters later. Because the documents were classified as ‘top secret’, he couldn’t just take them outside the hotel’s basement area.

The duo moved quickly through the building. A short explanation to one of Kwan’s people manning an internal checkpoint near the hotel’s exit was enough to call a carriage to get to P’pfel’s and Zeph’s aboveground laboratories. The snow powder storm was long gone but the temperature dropped even lower – they weren’t keen on going there by foot.

They retrieved their winter clothes from the hotel’s cloakroom and, after a quick ride, entered the building.

Noting was giving away the ongoing underground construction of their true laboratories. The place was in the exact same state he saw when moving in. The familiar way-too-thick walls of the entrance greeted him. The foyer was changed into a guarded security checkpoint, and this time they had to show their amulets and answer a few questions for verification purposes.

It was only natural, as with one checkpoint, it would be much easier to sneak into this building. Zeph wasn’t sure if true illusions were a thing, but changing one’s facial features wasn’t a big deal even on Earth – a little bit of silicone and any face could be handcrafted.

They used a spiral staircase, made from metal plates and set at the corner of the room. It was a new addition to the internal structure of the building, a necessary one. This time Ghrughah had to be much more mindful of his movements – the building wasn’t scaled up for him.

After a short trip through the main hallway on the second floor, they found themselves in Zeph’s Department’s laboratory. A weak scent of old and rotten meat greeted them. Zeph could even recognize a characteristic smell of small, furred animals mixing with it. The hall didn’t have the best ventilation, he knew, but it was becoming unpleasant.

Pavail was in the middle of slicing through a dead rake, evidently using her Skills while operating on the corpse. It was easily recognizable by the look of utter concentration on her face.

They waited for her to finish and a minute later, she straightened up and looked in their direction.

“Zeeeeph,” she called weakly, looking at him with pleading, wet eyes. “This place is getting reaaaally unsanitary… it isn’t good!”