Chapter 280: Chapter 278 ~ Assessing The Situation

The universe is no simple place, yet it runs on simple principles. Just as how life is dreadfully simple in its summary, but head-spinningly complex when you’re faced with a sum of troubles that you aren’t ready to face.

To live you must eat, drink, and sleep while avoiding anything that would kill you, whether it’s unwelcoming temperatures or a massive space lizard wanting a snack between lunch and dinner. Yet, in order to fight off the space lizards, the cold and the hot, and the terrible existential dread that comes from loneliness, we form groups.

Within groups we form internal politics and factions, we splinter off into specialised jobs to ensure that we do all we can to become valuable to the group. The issues that arise are no longer simple, and potential solutions even less so.

Well, the good solutions at least.

It’s always an option to just start killing people, but that usually creates more problems leading to more killing, until you’re sitting in a pit filled with the corpses of everyone you know, all alone with your existential dread.

As I was thinking before, life is complicated as much as it should be simple. Thankfully, I have some people interested in breaking down those complexities into smaller problems for me.

“Now that we’re finished with the de-collaring process, our population has grown significantly, but we can expect them to begin participating in civilisation in the coming weeks. We’ll need to assess their integration again next week,” June says, rubbing at her brow and shivering.

Dealing with the survivors that we brought in from the academy has left an impact on her. I only hope that she’ll get her smile back soon.

“Next is our food production,” The young man who takes up the next topic speaks with a slow, dry intonation. He’s an elf, the one from our space magic class, as a matter of fact, ever since he’s taken up work he’s settled into his place here.

“None of the farms have reached capacity production at this point, and we can expect a yield of roughly five tonnes of food this month, effectively all of it in the gaseous mana state.

“Assuming that hunts continue to provide roughly fifteen to twenty tonnes of food, then we won’t be short of supply any time shortly.” The man adjusts in his chair, as he stares at a screen that appears in his mind.

He’s already sent across the report, and I can read it myself but there are lots of different numbers and I’m not certain what the takeaway is.

“So, we don’t have a food problem?” I ask.

“We are currently dependent on hunting for our food, if there are any further obstructions to this supply chain, we will need to immediately start rationing. Some citizens require certain diets, and without being careful, we could starve them to death while we’re still stocked in other foodstuffs.”

“Understood,” I rub at my head as I take down notes. While there are new institutions built every day, I’m still the head of this empire and until I have the right systems in place, I’m directly responsible for these issues.

“We’ll need to have a record of all the dietary needs of our citizenry, and a consistently current manifest of all food in storage,” Slan says, thinking on the topic. I discuss with a few other advisors for a time before taking down notes and moving on.

There is much to do, and once this meeting is through, I’ll be leading a scouting mission to the world outside of our home.

“The current production of shards is going to saturate the market in short order, devaluing the currency that’s out there. This will however make mana more accessible throughout the empire, which will lead to a faster power growth all around.”

The meeting rolls on for another hour and a half before we break out of the stuffy room and I can finally catch my breath.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

“I’m sure you were observing every minute of it, but the lands around us pose no existential threat to us in the immediate future,” Red says. “We did notice some indication of intelligent life on the surface, and in one of our new neighbouring caverns but we haven’t ascertained the threat level yet.”

“You agree with my plan, then?” I ask.

“I agree with the plan,” she says. “Just don’t get reckless. You’re the one the dungeons actually care about, our fates are reliant on you surviving.”

“You can just say that you like me, and wouldn’t want to see me die, you know?”

“If I say that you might start getting ideas,” Red snorts. “How’s business on the home front? Enjoying politics? Anyone stab you in the back yet?”

“Not much in the way of politics at the moment,” I say. “We’re working together to put everything into place and make this city better for everyone.”

“Yeah… if there’s no one trying to stab you in the back, that just means that you don’t know who the traitor is yet,” Red slaps me on the shoulder and lets out a long sigh as she shivers. “There’s a reason I prefer the military. I know who my enemies are and we fight in the open.”

I can see her side of things, and I already know that most of the people working for me have some selfish thoughts, some even want to take my position for themselves. Occasionally I can even catch a few traitorous thoughts from my most reliable allies.

I can’t take it too seriously, I’ve caught plenty of rather uncomfortable thoughts and feelings from the people around me. In the end, I shouldn’t be spying on them all the time, so I try to pretend that I don’t notice unless it seems like it might lead to violence.

While I like to reserve judgement, I am still prepared to act should anyone do anything too reckless. I’ve personally taken on the role of an intelligence agency, so I need to take that responsibility seriously. Spying, counterintelligence, monitoring of potential traitors, and all the complexities that that brings with it.

“Are you done getting lost in your thoughts?” Red asks, shoving me. “Your team is waiting for you. Get out there and get some eyes on the new world.”

“It’ll be nice to stretch my legs and do something real for a change,” I say, standing tall and heading over to my team. “Paperwork and management just isn’t the same.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“So we’re not going out there to kill people?” Eshya asks, standing at the front of our formation, wearing the most modern form of our armour that’s available. It’s not quite as good as my own plate armour, but it’s fairly good at keeping people alive.

We need better helmets to go with it.

“Just scouting,” I say. “It’ll probably mean we have to kill plenty of beasts that swoop in to kill us, though. Just try to communicate where you can, we don’t want to piss off any potential allies.”

“So, we’re out here to make friends?” Eshya asks, curious and confused.

“We make friends if we can, otherwise we make enemies and slay them,” I answer. “Vii, stay on guard, how are you with your future sight?”

“I can kinda, maybe, sometimes see things a little into the future,” she says. “I’d feel better if you don’t rely on me for seeing traps and stuff. What happened to Eshya… I should have been able to see it coming.”

“Keep polishing your Skills,” I say. “It’s all any of us can do.”

The path we tread up from our cavern used to contain ruins of an ancient elvish society, now it’s a completely different road to a different place. The stone winds around and is sometimes so steep that we need to climb or fly up past walls or shatter stone to widen the path. Much of the walls aren’t even claimed by the dungeon anymore.

One concern is the slow dribbling of water that comes from above. If we get flooded out of our own cavern I’m going to be pissed.

Eshya, Vii, and I lead a team of scouts and warriors up to the surface. There are only a dozen of us, including Rare and Shy, who I’m sure were selected not just for their Skills, but also because of their familiarity with me.

“There’s light ahead,” Shy whispers, appearing at our side as if peeling away from nothingness. “We’ll be able to reach the surface from there.”

I nod, keeping quiet as I watch for any threats. My unique sensory extensions provide me with an advantage over others, and I can’t let myself be distracted.

The walls widen away from us and a diffuse light shines down through a wide hole overhead, reddish-brown water drips into thick swampy waters at the base of the pit that we’ve climbed into.

Hundreds of finger-length grubs writhe about in the swampy waters, they seem to be eating away the muck and largely ignoring or even climbing over one another.

Thick ferns that grow in clusters, almost like fortifications. Little castles rising out of the water and mud, their leaves sharpened blades that thrust out over the battlements to defend the roots from whatever would eat them.

“Watch out for the leaves,” Shy says, “They’re metal, very slightly electrified, and coated in poison.”

“That’s quite the combination,” I reply, peering at them closely.

“They’ve adapted to the world and the resources available,” Vii says, wide-eyed as she takes in the surrounding sights. “There’s rust in the waters, isn’t there?”

“Don’t know, but I’m not drinking it,” Shy says, shrugging. “We’ll want to fly up to the surface through the opening in the pit.”

Careful for the poisoned blades on the plants, we fly up, some of us under our own power, others with assistance. We rise through the gap into the skies above, thick with wide-reaching grey clouds that, for now at least, simply hang above us, hiding the sight of our massive ship flying far above.

Below the sky is a world of shining metals, grey stone, and reddish waters.

Thousands of insects, birds, and scaled swamp monsters war in the thin marsh that covers the earth. They fight as beasts do, with little sign of intelligence, and an overbearing greed for more.

Stone islands cut above the sodden swamp waters, shaped into large fortresses. The beasts do not dare go near these islands, preferring the reddish waters and small clumps of steel ferns and forestry.

A single massive tree grows high above the thick mess, the wide branches and thick blue leaves standing apart from the lower hellscape of rustic reds. The roots however are constant battle zones, insects and oversized grubs gnaw and shatter the thick, armoured bark, while other roots roll around crushing them and consuming them in turn.

Past all of this lies an ocean of the same reddish hue as the swamp waters. Tall waves form on the ocean surface washing in through the edges of the swamp with enough force that they seem like they should be tearing the trees and ferns away, but the botanical powers win out against the waves, subduing the power of the ocean to feed the swamp with more waters.

As we settle into the knee-deep muck by the side of our pit, I point us to the nearest of the stone islands.

“Let’s head up to the islands,” I say. “If there’s any chance of civilisation, it’ll be there. Also, if you can catch any weak beasts with eyes, do so. I’d like to get a better view of our surroundings.”

“Got some!” Vii shouts, swiftly wrapping up a few flying bugs in balls of wind. I pull them down with force magic and tag them with my Skill before freeing them. As I gain more eyes, I can see more of the world around us.

The worst of the beasts seem to be hiding from us, waiting and watching to see if we are prey or predator. None of them seem too much of a threat, their magic all relatively weak.

Beyond them, into the stone fortifications, I start to make out our first goal.

The stone castle nearest to us, isn’t quite to a human construction standard, though I’m sure that it’s still stable. The walls are moulded like clay, and sharp spikes poke out through tiny gaps in the wall. As I watch, one of the spikes thrusts out into a large grub that has taken to gnawing on the stone.

The spear thrusts into the body of the oversized grub before shining as bright as lightning. The grub glows from the power, trying to fight back uselessly. More spears thrust into it, and the shocks intensify until black smoke rises from small pits that form in its skin.

“There’s intelligent life in the stone forts,” I warn my team as we step up out of the waters onto the stone island. “I’m going to try and make contact.”

“Be careful,” Vii says, fluttering closer and glaring at the stone as sweat forms on her brow. I’m sure that she’s working hard to see into the future, but I can’t rely on her for this.

The large stone fort has more than just walls, but a defensible rooftop as well. The only way in that I can see is through a small set of doors at the end of a short tunnel, at the foot of the fort.

“Hello,” I say in greeting as I walk up to the start of the tunnel. Countless spear holes are built through a ten-metre-long section of tunnel that I’d have to crawl through to get inside. The stone itself isn’t too mana-dense, and I could crack it if I wanted to.

That wouldn’t be great diplomacy, though. Not unless I need a show of strength against a belligerent foe.

I lean in front of a spear hole, catching the weapon that thrusts out at me. It’s maybe at 5,000 mana density, but when that’s focused on the tip it’s still able to do damage. Using my annihilation shields I could easily withstand a full assault, at a cost.

I pull the spear out, the creature’s resistance much too weak to stop me. It ‘yelps’ in surprise as it hits the inside wall. Peering in through the killing hole, I catch sight of a small, furred creature rushing away through a set of internal tunnels.

“I come in peace,” I shout, through the gap. “Just coming to check on our neighbours. Are you guys peaceful, are we starting another war?”

Distant chittering whispers spread out from within, barely audible even with my enhanced senses. Clearly it’s not intended as a reply.

“Another smart creature?”

“It’s saying it’s here in peace?”

“It’s not Reah is it? If you stabbed at him we’re going to be paying triple for his wares, we can’t afford that!”

“It’s not Reah.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s not Reah!”

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“Fine. Is it more flyers? Bandits?”

“No, it’s got no wings. It has red hair and metal skin.”

“I’ll get Pao, she’ll know what to do.”

I can’t quite tell them apart from the sound alone, though I’m sure it should be possible with some practice. It seems like they’re capable of peace, even dealing with some kind of local trader.

While I’m waiting for them to get this Pao, a few stray beasts assault my combat team, but they’re struck down quickly and easily. Something akin to a crab has its upper shell crushed, while an oversized fly has its wings cut from it.

With my mana full, in its current crystallised state, I can’t draw the mana from them, but we can still take the bodies back home and see what we can make of them.

If they’re not edible, we might actually need to be worried about our food situation.

“Hello, you can speak?” a small figure appears on the other side of the tunnel through an open door. I can tell that the spearmen are ready to punch a dozen holes in me if I try to rush her.

“Good to meet you,” I say, kneeling down to see her better. Their architecture isn’t meant for someone my size.

Pao is a ferret about the length of my leg. She wears a monocle and scaled armour over the length of her body, and she stands at the door with pride and a considerable sense of authority.

“Who are you, and what are you here for?” She asks.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Stats and Skills

 

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 60,892 / 60,892 units

Current mana volume: 30,271 / 30,271 shards

 

Mana volume at crystallisation density (Max. mana volume):

Kyra: 30,271 shards

Kyra’s armour: 20,777 shards

Kyra’s throne: 1,109,298 shards

 

~Forms

Mana Canon

-Annihilation Heart (Adapted)

-Blood Fuel (Adapted)

-Bone Magic Storage (Adapted)

-Nail Shifters (Adapted)

 

Dancer

-Flash Nerves (Adapted)

-Quick Perception Mind (Adapted)

-Burst Reflex Muscles (Adapted)

-Layered Space Muscles (Adapted)

 

Turtle

-Rebinding Tissue (Adapted)

-Catalyst Sweat Glands (Adapted)

-Repulsive Skin (Adapted)

-Prehensile hair (Adapted)

-Fatty Tissue Blood Storage (Adapted)

 

Investigator

-Wide eyes (Adapted)

-Wide ears (Adapted)

-Sharp nose (Adapted)

 

Misc.

-Clean bowels (Adapted)

-Mana Drive (Adapted)

 

 

~Favourited Skills:

 

Magic:

-Annihilation Magic (Customised)

-Fire Magic (Functional)

-Space magic (Broken)

-Force magic (Functional)

-Ice magic (Broken)

-Wind magic (Broken)

 

Movement:

-Hand-to-hand casting (Functional)

-Mana surge movement (Functional)

-Stealth (Functional)

 

Senses:

-Eyes of an Empire (Customised)

-Combat Awareness (Functional)

-Watchmen (Functional)

-Hidden bug (Mastered)

-De-tagging (Mastered)

-Anti-stealth sight (Mastered)

 

Special:

-Spirit Transformation (Broken)

-Conformity (Broken)

-Training mana form (Functional)

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