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Chapter 42: The Answer to Everything
🕑 Added 2021-11-07 07:04:46 +0000 UTCThe answer to so many problems was very rarely not obvious afterwards. When a creature got the time to look back at their past actions, including the past not previously understood, things seemed to always melt together into one obvious mix of an answer. There were so many parts before, so many working, moving, and changing sub-areas that needed to be focused on. Yet, all that changed the moment where the Entity was past it, nothing nearly as complex. Maybe it was the stress that came with being there in the moment or maybe it was due to the lack of proper answers to what certain actions would do. The Core wasn't exactly sure about that topic.
What it knew was that its actions might not have been the smartest, making it waste more time than it was proud of letting others know of. Luckily, the only intelligent being that was close enough to be told was the Ant Queen, and there was no way that the topic of building techniques would be discussed with that creature. Instead, the Core would allow itself to wallow in self-pity, hoping that such an act would bring back the happiness gained during the creation of the new room.
Eighteen full hours had gone by, letting only two remain before the creatures were required to come back to its domain no matter what. At that time, no new level-up screens had come around, though that fact wasn't entirely surprising. With each new level, the requirements for an additional one became bigger and bigger. Expecting extreme progress constantly was an expectation best left for a time where the Core to afford to be that stupid. Instead, it remained in the land of unsurprised, fully accepting the lack of signs that the group of creatures were alright.
But, back to the digging out of the new room. With nearly all the ants working around the clock to bring in the shape of the new place, things had seemed to be just fine. The entire thing had been prepared in record time, the twelve hours point being where the entire room had been dugout. By that point, the Panels of section one had been finished easily, no places left unchecked. That had further allowed the dungeon to release the Panel separating the two rooms, allowing Mana and sight to breathe in steadily. It took a bit more time to even out after that but the density slowly but steadily returned to what it had been before. Having another hundred cubic meters to fill out with power was quite an expensive task.
And it had only been one-third of the final room at that point, two other sections needing the same treatment. That had certainly been quite the task to get to, the middle one including the holes in both the floor and the cycling which needed to be excavated. Such a task had then been shuffled over to the last stage of building, the Core rather wanting to do basic panelling around the area and make it possible for everything to be within its sights.
Already in the mood for such a thing, doing it for all the parts of the room had been rather easy, the long streaks of flat walls helping expedite the process. The curved nature of the room above had been quite the challenge to make work correctly yet the box shape of the new one made it all one step easier. In the future, the Core would likely even make the shape a standard, working on it markedly easier than anything else. There were issues on some fronts still, yes, but the actual amount was still owed. Although… smoothing out the corners would be something that it would do, later on, the sharper ones not working just right. A small bit of Mana never seemed to want to stay inside on those places, forcing the Core to fudge it slightly to make it work right. It wasn't the proudest moment that had been had in those parts of the process but it wasn't the worst one either.
No… the worst was when the Core had realised that it could dig ten times faster than the ants with only half the time spent on it. The simple act of making a tendril further out and then using the influence over the area to destroy the stone was the easiest way to destroy everything in the Entity’s path. It took under a minute to get ten cubic meters of stone out of the way, a task which would have likely taken the ants more than ten. It was obvious in hindsight that such a fact was present yet the Entity had simply never thought of it.
It could have been done at that moment. The only thing stopping the Core from being able to say that it had was the fact that it had delegated too much work over to them under it. Those creatures were meant to fight, to protect, digging only being a sub-goal for them. It should have been obvious that they wouldn't be able to do it on the level of the Entity, yet it had refused to see the light. Now? Now it had some time to catch up on, a tunnel needing to be dug out before the new room could be called done.
But that also had to wait. Between all the other tasks being maintained, the Core wasn't truly able to separate its mind enough to both create the middle part of the new room while also letting the tunnel further out be dug by its own mind. So… while not entirely liking the idea, the ants had yet again been set to that task, though most of them simply spent their time grabbing mined stone and bringing it into the Core’s domain. It could have simply destroyed them while they were still outside of it, but that would require attention best left for the tasks at hand.
Creating a perfect-fit square that could hold several tons of stone in an up and down movement was quite the task to have since the act of balance was about more than one item. It had to be perfectly shaped, perfectly weighted, and the height needed to be even with the floor lest it wouldn't look good. The latter requirement might have been enclosed to a personal one rather than a functional one, but it still held itself high on the list of priorities. Secrets didn't need to be shown off until after the creature couldn't escape from them, after all. And letting the enemy know that several tons of stone lay dormant beneath, ready to stop any intrusions in any capacity, was not entirely seen as a great idea from an intellectual standpoint. There were certainly problems with it, at least, the most minor of all being that the enemy could prepare for it beforehand. Nothing truly stopped them from just… digging around the defences. It would take more than a few hours to do but it could be done, though the danger related to it would also be quite serious.
However, the skill of being precise was not something that the Core hated in any real way. It was a great opportunity to learn how to be more… proficient. That didn’t sound entirely right to the Core’s nonexistent ears but it was not one to judge the repeating words. Instead, it went on with its task, doing the best it could with every side. The perfectly balanced rocks down under it needed to be made to the exact same specifications ten times precisely, able to cover up five separate corridors on both sides. And… while it didn't get tested out instantly, the Core thought that it had done a mighty fine job. Creating another piece of Physical Arcane and then smashing it again at the border certainly didn't do anything but destroy the fabricated matter. A job well done in its eyes, at the very least, though it had no such organ, to begin with.
No matter. There was still another part of the middle section that needed to be made, that being the trigger on the roof for making two tons of stone crash down on the evil victims. If there were to be found any traces of Black Mana, it needed to be eradicated after all. The risk of containment was too high, making instant death the only preferable method of execution. Hence why the Core needed to make a piece of stone weighing two tons in total hang from the ceiling seven meters above.
The only question was how this was meant to work. The idea of simply using Physical Arcane came around again. It would allow itself to be destroyed at a moments notice, after all, and the benefit of reaping in all the Mana again would allow the creation to be quite cost-effective. There would be a few small issues surrounding the idea, such as the massive amount of Mana required to reinforce the thing, but such had already been experienced with the Arcane holding the stone underneath. It was that big of a deal when Manual Regeneration still existed.
Now… the actual shape of the stone meant t crush the one beneath? Now that was a hard question to match. There was a slight issue about going after the perfect fit again, the size needed to do that, on the length and wideness especially, creating a slight fault in the actual thickness of the thing. Couple that with the chance of it bending slightly when falling down, stopping due to the friction between it and the walls, and there came around a smaller set of issues that very easily turned into a couple of massive ones. The idea about the stone not being able to kill the enemy, allowing it to turn into an undead and revving havoc was not appreciated. No… designs had to make up for any chance of errors.
The design needed to allow for it to cover all ground where the creature could huddle itself into while also making sure that the thickness would be big enough to make sure that it wouldn't rotate when falling due to air pressure. The initial idea was to simply add more weight on top to make sure that it couldn't rotate due to physical limitations, yet that idea was scrapped very quickly. The Core had seen what happened when larger weights were dropped onto the floor. Since it was still underground, and since it didn't have direct access to the stone above the ålace to monitor its health, there was little chance that it would allow fractures to passively grow in size. No… the weight would remain, two tons having already been noted down as the absolute maximum.
Instead, it had to be more than just a flat box. The sides of it would be lengthed in thickness at the expense of the middle being more shallow. It would ruin any chances of crushing the enemies since there was no way anybody would be able to survive the pressure anyway, but it would allow for it to fall without the Core fearing it not meeting the target. Coupling that with the sides then allowing for some Physical Arcanve to grab onto it and there a deal struck on the design. It was created in under an hour, leaving three more at that point before the creatures needed to return.
Three hours and the room had just been created, the tunnel meant to lead over to it still not close to being finished. The Core could do nothing but be a little restless due to it being the way it was. But, it did not lose focus, the Entity instead used the stress to work harder. With the ants already being so far out, the tethers connecting them to the Core was strengthened, the extra Mana flowing out being used to destroy the rock in front of them. Instead of making them use {Bite] over and over again, the creature was instead the holder of the Core’s mind, allowing the Entity to see further ahead than normal. And like it had been saying before, the Core was much faster than the ants, being able to create the tunnel in one-tenth the time.
Not that this meant it was done in a minute or anything. Steps forwards were perhaps being gained constantly but those steps still seemed like nothing when compared to the eighty meters that needed to be crossed. Almost ten minutes was spent in that state of progress, the front ant taking a step, the Core destroying more rock and stone before another step could be taken, allowing the process to repeat yet again.
Yet… things didn't go that smoothly after a while. While the Entity wanted to think of itself as one who had cracked the system, allowing for unlimited range outside of its domain, there was still a very clear limit after a while. a single tether could only run for so long before it grew too stretched, the Mana inside not able to survive the journey without all filtering out. The requirements for focus grew too quickly, the exponential function for it not allowing much more than thirty meters.
So one had to think smart after that. A single tether couldn't work. But what about several tethers put together with a small point in between to let the Mana regather its focus? That had certainly been an idea, the Core creating the tendrils of Mana between the different creatures. It was quite the task to do, it having never been done before in such a capacity. But… it did work to some extent.
The efficiency wasn't close to good, the loss with each creature being quite something. Everybody’s system wanted a cut after all, and eight full creatures were quite the hungry beasts when put together. But the ability to simply pump more Mana into the system allowed those losses to be overcome, making it possible to walk another twenty meters.
Those twenty meters were quite something, to be fully honest. New materials started popping up, some in amounts worthy of being checked out later on. And… the Core was starting to think it would do just that when it had the chance. The tunnel leading over to its domain hadn't been meant to be within where it could see, yet the materials inside were more than worthy of allowing for that to happen instead. Yet before such a thing could be put into reality, the tunnel still needed to be created.
Which was going to take some extra time, the Core’s limit being found. It wasn't due to the [System] telling it that or anything. No, it had been more because even Manual Regeneration couldn't keep up with the demands, buckling under the pressure, and slowly making the Core go into the minus.
It was quite something, seeing all that hard work and toil turn into nothing at all. Even with all the focus in the world, the expenses were still piling on. Over a hundred Mana was used each second, all that funnelled directly from the air around the creature. There had been hope that it would last longer, yet the Core should have known that it wouldn't. Instead, it would have to slow down its activities while hoping that it would allow for the gain to be balanced out yet again.
However… the first to go was the tunnel being made at that moment. While the costs of maintaining the [Blood-Moss]’s growth was high, the cost of the tunnel creation was so much higher. And that would only grow more with each step, nearly doubling every ten. Costs would reach a thousand each second if it had to go the full eighty meters by itself. And… that was more than just impossible at the current moment. Instead of pushing for that dream, hoping it would last for a bit more time, it was instead shut down before anything else.
That meant the ants had to do the remaining forty meters of the tunnel which was a… very uncomfortable idea. Whatever the material later on was, it was quite hardened when compared to the regular stone. It had more Mana inside it, allowing for more resistance to every [Bite] used. while it wouldn't put the creatures to a standstill, the time required for it to work right was still quite something. And when that was matched again the fact that the tunnel was made to allow the full-grown ants to stay side-by-side, it became quite the ordeal to get going with.
And, as the last and final straw which made it all the harder to get through, the tethers meant to help the creatures along were not able to last at such a length, forcing the creatures to return every few minutes to get filled up. The Core gave all oversized pieces of [Stamina-Recovery], letting each have fifty whole Mana in each of them. It would have gladly allowed for more if it had been possible, but any larger doses held the chances of letting the Stamina seep out too early and kill the creatures in a very painful way. That was not something the Core wanted to risk so the return trips became a constant activity instead.
Not that this return trip was looked at as anything positive or even close to it. Instead, the creature made sure that it wouldn't be quite the long trip over time, starting out the Panellign process of the tunnel. While it certainly would take the entire stretch of eighty meters under its wing, that likely being the biggest expansion to date if it were, the Core would settle for a fraction of a quarter. Maybe ten or fifteen meters inside. More wouldn't be possible or safe. The [Queen of Hollows] had already shown off that it could accurately detect Mana send its way. Allowing the Core to have Mana on the very tunnel not meant to seem interesting was not the smartest decision in the world. Even letting it be fifteen meters inside already seemed like quite the fools game. Yet… the materials inside seemed more than worth it.
When the Entity finally reached a point where it could sample some of them, it was sure that it would be a mighty feast. Until then, it was forced to, again and again, fill up the creatures’ Stamina to make sure they could work at their optimal speeds. Looking at the [Moss] that was above, it seemed that there were a whole… two hours? Only that? The Core still needed to bring down the [Blood-Moss] and the tunnel wasn't even done? Things were quickly becoming more stressful, the Entity still remembering that the twenty-four-hour limit had a good chance of not being reached anyway. If one or more creatures were badly hurt or harmed, the creatures would escort them back to the domain to be healed. If that was the case, there was still a chance of them returning early. And with the Queen likely expecting another attack, it was just as likely that the group would be seen sooner than later.
Stress was the Core’s middle name, it seemed, though it had neither a first nor last. Though… why there was even a need for three, to begin with, seemed so incoherent. Not that it had any desire nor curiosity in that subject, much more important things needed to be focused on. The two [Infested] creatures were brought back from their duties surrounding bringing away the bitten rocks into the Core’s domains, ordered to start the movement of the [Blood-Moss]. The eight [Arcane] boxes had done it a world of goodness, the Moss already growing to a point where it needed to be fixed around. With how much there was, the middle of the room was nearly already reached. It was as if it was beginning to reach the new room. Though, that was more likely the Entity slowly losing its mind due to the related stress. It didn't matter much, the [Infested Giant-Ants] starting up the process of slowly cutting away larger chunks of the Moss, making sure that every bite wouldn't harm it. The progress on that task seemed steady enough the Core allowed itself to fully focus on giving the other creatures boosts of Stamina, to a point where the eight Arcane boxes were allowed to fizzle out.
And… that was how the next hour was spent, the Core making sure the creatures had plenty of Mana to go around while also giving small glances towards how the [Infested] was moving around the Moss. It was quite the process to oversee, the lacking strength of the creatures limiting how they could move the plant down the tunnel. Luckily, the ability to somewhat communicate with the [Blood-Moss], whether that was due to both creatures being a part of the Core’s repertoire or due to both creatures having some common ancestry, helped along the process markedly. The moss cut up was made to cover the ants back like a massive sheet, allowing for the creature to steadily move entire swaths of the plant down the hole without issue. No damage was done at any point, allowing the Moss to regain and assimilate itself back into the previous positons, creating a large area where the ground could no longer be seen. By the end of the hour, much had been done. Yet more remained. Though, the benefits were still rolling in just as well.
A [Skill] has been improved!
You have understood [Stamina-Recovery] more deeply
There was nothing like gaining another level in a skill without intending for it to happen. The Core could certainly appreciate the small boost in efficiency granted by the upgrade of the skill. While it wasn't enough for the efficiency to change from five to six, it seemed like there was still some minor thing done. It could have been a five-point one instead, though there wasn't enough time to truly test it out. Another time, the Core supposed, was only able to continue the progress as best as it could.
Through pure force, the tunnel was finally allowed to show itself out into the cave system found earlier in the day. The Core was more than happy with it, things finally seeming to go their way. With how things had turned out as of late, the small errors seen here and there slowly growing into something that much more serious, there had been the slight expectation of something going wrong. Perhaps a cave-in or something like it? But… it seemed that was saved for another time, the Core simply allowed to enjoy what it had created instead.
Sending out most of the creatures back into the main domain, the Core began to see to it that everything was still as it was meant to be. Taking up the pillars meant to block the corridors seemed easy enough, with no friction on the sides requiring repairs. The movement of the boxes was likewise gentle enough to let it be without fractures over time, though the Core would still check for them every once in a while. Lastly, one of the list of tests, however, was the kill switches.
The actual pieces of Arcane holding up the large block of stone meant to crush enemies of infected allies. Reinforcement had been used with each of them to the point where there was no chance of them falling over time. And the last two hours of them holding up the heavy rocks seemed to have incurred no damage for them either way, which showed there was nothing to be afraid of in the department of accidental triggers. However, the Entity was slowly beginning to realise that all testing for the actual process had been purely theoretical. That needed to be fixed.
