“I mean, I guess it could work,” she said quietly. Eliza glanced at Jason. “But building something this intricate in-game would likely be expensive and time-consuming. That’s assuming we get it right the first time.”
An excited grin curled Jason’s lips. “I think I might have a solution for that. If you can help me modify this design to do what you need, I can give it a shot.”
Eliza was still skeptical, but she reluctantly agreed. The pair settled in and got to work. Jason soon discovered that the water mage had been right. The mechanisms involved in a real-world bottling plant were sophisticated and relied on an advanced computer system to run the machinery. In contrast, the pair was limited to the mechanical applications of his dark mana – and the fact that this fantasy world didn’t exactly have computers. However, Jason had already learned to code instructions for his minions, and he found he could adapt a similar process for the manufacturing apparatus, creating a sort of machine code for each part of the equipment. It also helped that the potion brewing process wasn’t entirely realistic, simplifying on some of the steps compared to its real-world counterpart.
Alfred could sometimes be a benevolent video game god.
A few hours later, the pair were staring at the 3D image of a modified set of factory equipment. They hadn’t found an easy way to make the machine prepare the ingredients, but it was capable of producing every other step and bottling the final product. Eliza and her assistant would only need to feed in the pre-prepared ingredients and set the vials that would receive the healing elixir. Eliza assured him that this would dramatically reduce the time it took to manufacture the potions.
At least, in theory.
“Do you think it will work?” Eliza asked, although Jason noted the excitement that lingered in her eyes. Some of her reservation had dropped away as they worked, and it was interesting to see her come out of her shell. He had to admit that it had been a fun challenge.
“I guess we’ll have to find out!” Jason said, hopping off his stool and moving to the unoccupied portion of the cavern as he pulled up the console for the mana well.
“What are you doing?” she called after him.
“You’ll see in a second,” he murmured in a distracted voice.
Jason navigated the well’s menu and chose “Custom Building.” As he did so, the world around him began to slow to a crawl, the effect barely noticeable in the otherwise empty cavern. The giveaway was that Eliza was now frozen in place and unresponsive atop her stool, her mouth open, as though she was about to say something. A building console had also appeared in the air before him. In many ways, it reminded him of the creation system for Custom Skeleton.
After a few minutes spent fiddling with the editor, Jason realized that the major differences between creating a building and a summoned creature were the materials and the cost. The building didn’t have a hard material cost that required a stockpile of bones – the mana well presumably supplying the materials for him. Instead, a small readout was displayed in the corner of the screen indicated the total Spirit Charge cost of the structure and another window showed whether the building would charge a regular maintenance cost. With the build window empty, the fields were blank.
Jason shifted the model of the factory equipment beside him and frowned in concentration. He had no interest in recreating the entire design from scratch, so he looked for a way to import the design automatically. A moment later, he found what he was looking for – an import feature buried deep inside the editor’s submenus. Automatically uploading a real-world factory design into a fantasy video game felt like cheating, but Jason wasn’t going to complain. Things hadn’t exactly been going his way in-game lately. Besides, he should use the feature while it was available – especially now that Alfred had proven he wasn’t reticent to nerf Jason’s abilities.
As the build menu finished importing the design, Jason held his breath, his eyes hovering on the cost in the bottom corner. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw that the cost of the building was just barely below his current Spirit Charges. It would require a total of 50 charges and would incur a daily maintenance cost of 2 Spirit Charges. That was rough, effectively reducing his income by two-thirds. Although, he had already upgraded the critical villages and installed most of the Dark Spires. Now he was basically just hoarding mana for no reason. So why not convert that into money that he could use to help strengthen the city and equip his troops?
As his hand hovered over the “accept” button, Jason couldn’t help but hesitate. Doubts flitted through his mind. He really hoped that this was the right decision. Otherwise, he would have wasted a ton of money and most of his mana reserve on this gambit. Then his thoughts turned back to Riley, a small smile lingering on his face.
If he had learned anything lately, it was that sometimes you just had to take a risk.
As he pressed the button, the world suddenly jerked back into motion and several things happened at once. He could hear someone screaming at him. Although, the headache that was now pounding through his temples made it hard for him to concentrate. He belatedly realized that he was now on his knees, cradling his aching head. Wind whipped around him, and it seemed to be growing stronger, as though he were kneeling in the middle of a hurricane.
Suddenly, Jason was jerked backward and half-dragged across the ground. This stopped a few merciful seconds later, and Eliza’s face loomed in front of his. “Are you okay?” she shouted at him over the noise that had filled the cavern.
“I-I think so,” Jason yelled back, pain still radiating from his temples. He struggled to a sitting position, wondering what was causing all the noise.
He froze as he finally saw what was happening on the other end of the cavern. A hurricane was indeed raging inside the cave, except this one was comprised entirely of bone and dark mana. The storm swirled in a vortex of energy so powerful that it was throwing pieces of Eliza’s equipment across the room, the metal and glass crashing against the walls. The cloud was becoming denser by the moment, bone and debris spiraling in a cloud that soon obscured the room’s far wall.
Jason could still make out something happening inside the maelstrom, the debris occasionally parting just enough to see inside the storm. He thought he saw ivory bone knitting together in an intricate pattern so complex that he was having difficulty processing what he was seeing – despite the hours he and Eliza had just spent staring at this particular design.
And then, just as quickly as the vortex had appeared, the energy abruptly faded. Stray bones and ruined equipment rattled to the floor of the cavern, and they were left staring at the far end of the cavern. A massive set of factory equipment now filled the space. The entire assemblage was built of ivory bones, creating an intricate latticework. Bands and tendrils of dark mana were stretched between the bone, acting as some sort of magical muscle. The effect was that the equipment seemed to exude a faint dark aura.
It was a little hard to believe that this macabre machinery would be creating healing potions.
“W-what just happened?” Eliza murmured in shock.
“I’m able to create buildings using dark mana now,” Jason tried to explain as he struggled back to his feet, his headache mercifully beginning to subside. “I guess that’s what it looks like.”
Eliza looked at him skeptically. “Maybe next time you should stand further back,” she suggested in a dry voice. “You almost trapped yourself inside that machine.”
Jason looked at her sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Fair enough,” he murmured. “Thanks for pulling me out of the way.”
“Just remember that the next time I ask for ingredients,” Eliza replied with a smile.
He glanced back at the machine, feeling excitement bubbling in his chest. He had survived, despite being an idiot. Now the fruit of their labor stood in front of them, almost seeming to beckon to him. There was only a single question remaining.
“Do you want to test it?” Eliza asked tentatively.
He looked
over at the mage to find her staring at the machinery. She met his gaze as she noticed him looking at her, anxious excitement burning behind her eyes and mirroring his own. They had just created something entirely new, and the implications were both terrifying and exciting. They had likely just built the first factory in Awaken Online.
“Oh, hell yes!” Jason replied.
Chapter 36 - Burned
Jason stepped out of The Grove a few hours later. The massive steel door swung shut with an ominous bang, followed shortly by a series of thumps as the locking bars slid into place. A tired smile was plastered on his face, and the proof of his labor was clutched in his hand, the vial glowing with a faint red light.
They were in business!
Eliza was already working on the first batch of potions, and they were hoping to start putting them up on the market by nightfall – at a healthy markup, of course. Hopefully, the few days that had passed in-game hadn’t allowed someone to flood the market with new ingredients and potions. Although, Jason doubted that anyone was capable of moving fast enough to beat him to the punch. It would likely take a group of players working together, and there were very few people with his resources at this stage of the game. Worst case scenario, he could buy out whatever limited inventory was now available and then replace them with his products.
As Jason stepped out of the tunnel leading down into The Grove, lightning arced through the sky, illuminating the buildings on the northern end of town. Jason stopped and watched the scene for a few seconds as he mentally reviewed his to-do list. Things were starting to come together. They had almost secured the remainder of the outlying villages, and they might have a solution to their money problem. All that left was to complete the second challenge and deal with Thorn.
At that thought, he glanced at the party menu on the left side of his UI, noting that Riley’s icon was still grayed out. She should be on soon, and then they could tackle the infuriating dark room one more time.
“Hello, sir,” a gravelly voice spoke up from Jason’s elbow. He jumped slightly and stifled a yelp. An evil overlord probably shouldn’t squeak like a little girl, he thought, rolling his eyes at himself.
He turned to find one of the Kin standing beside him, bleached white eyes staring at him from under a heavy hood. The man was robed in dark leather and daggers were strapped to his waist. Jason’s Perception immediately highlighted hidden blades tucked away in his sleeves and recessed pockets across his body.
He must be one of Jerry’s men.
“What do you want?” Jason asked.
The undead man bowed his head. “Jerry assigned me to act as a messenger for Cecil. The headmaster of The Cauldron requests your presence.”
Jason’s brow furrowed in thought. “Did Cecil say what he wanted?”
“Only that he wished to show you something,” the man replied evenly. Then he hesitated. “Although, he did seem excited.”
“Thank you,” Jason said. “You may return to your duties.”
With a final nod, the undead man retreated into the shadows of a nearby building and promptly vanished from sight. It seemed that Jerry had trained his underlings well, with discretion being even more vital right now with Thorn still at large.
Jason was curious regarding Cecil’s new invention. Perhaps the gruff little man had come up with something that would help outfit his troops or that might give Jason an edge in the second challenge.
There was only one way to find out.
* * *
Jason discreetly wound through the former noble houses, their windows dark and silent. Only the occasional flash of lightning and the faint gleam from a swinging lamp pushed back at the oppressive shadows. While they had repurposed some of the buildings for Morgan’s magic school and The Cauldron, most of the buildings in this part of the city had remained vacant. Maybe someday he would find a purpose for the empty, palatial structures – something that put them to better use than throwing lavish dinner parties and housing the city’s former corrupt elite.
Jason rounded a corner, and the crafting school – a two-story structure set on a sprawling estate – came into view in the distance. In contrast to the abandoned streets, this area contained faint traces of life and activity. Students came and went from the building and light shone from the windows. Although, the occasional dull thump and scream from the school were a bit disconcerting. The only solace was that he was pretty sure the undead couldn’t harm themselves too badly. Either way, the activity was somewhat comforting; it served as a reminder that his city was still alive and growing despite their troubles lately.
As he neared the crafting school, a group of undead students exited the building. They eyed him in surprise as he approached, their gaze quickly taking in his cloaked figure and the staff in his hand. Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as they skirted around him, their eyes suddenly focused on the ground as they gave him a wide berth.
There we go! At least I can occasionally look the part, he thought, grimacing as he remembered how Jerry’s minion had caught him by surprise.
His self-congratulation was short-lived, however. Just as he was nearing the entrance to the school, he was suddenly tossed backward several yards, landing heavily as a roar of noise and light filled his vision.
It took Jason several precious seconds to get his bearings. His vision cleared slowly, the blinding sheet of white gradually fading to a mottled beige. Meanwhile, he was having difficulty making out any sound. His ears were ringing, and he could just barely hear muted shouts and screams. With a deliberate and painful effort, he managed to sit up – the world spinning precariously.
And then he saw the school.
A massive hole had been blown in the side of the second floor. Flames poured from the opening and were starting to spread to the rest of the ancient structure. The source of the screams also became apparent. Nearly a dozen bodies now lay on the street beside him. To his right, a woman lay on the ground clutching at her missing leg, congealed blood trickling from the open wound as she shouted in pain. A corpse lay to his left, its head severed from the rest of its body – which was nowhere to be seen. His flailing mind suddenly realized that the undead must have been on the second floor and had been thrown out of the building by the blast.
Jason pushed himself to his feet, the final stunning effects of the blast beginning to recede even as the full impact of what had happened finally struck him. More injured students were pouring out of the building, nursing wounds and burns. As Jason took in the sight of destruction, he inadvertently summoned his mana, and a numb feeling settled over his mind. Cecil frequently joked about students accidentally setting his school on fire, but this didn’t look like a frivolous mistake.
This looked like an attack.
Troops were just beginning to appear from down the street, likely alerted by the sound of the blast. Jason called out as they neared, his voice commanding and carrying over the din. “Round up the survivors. I’ll search the school.” He received curt nods from the soldiers.
Jason put the remains of the dead to work, summoning zombies from the corpses that now dotted the street. Tendrils of dark mana crawled around his hands before racing toward the unmoving bodies. Only moments later, the dead began to rise again. He would need minions that could assist him in scouring The Cauldron for survivors. What he didn’t want to do was put any more of his people at risk by sending them inside. The bottom line was that he and his summoned creatures were expendable. Soon, nearly a dozen zombies had shambled over beside him, many missing limbs but still functional.
They’ll have to do, he thought grimly. He summoned his Bone Armor using some of the bones he had stockpiled, the plating appearing on his arms and legs. If this wasn’t a mistake, then he needed to be prepared. Thorn or his men could still be inside.
Jason and his minions ventured into the school and came face-to-face with a hellish scene. The entrance to the building led into a massive foyer, a grand staircase against the far wall leading up the second l
evel. The fire was already ravaging the old building, spreading quickly through the dry, ancient wood. Part of the second floor had already caved in. An exposed beam had broken through the ceiling, now rested against the floor as smoke and ash filled the air.
“Find any survivors,” Jason croaked to his minions, covering his mouth with the hem of his cloak as he quickly handed each zombie a healing potion. He silently thanked the Dark One that he had the foresight to bring the first batch of healing potions with him. “Bring them outside. Hand them a potion if they are injured. Force them to drink it if they aren’t capable of doing it on their own. Their survival is all that matters.”
Some of the newly-minted zombies managed to grunt in acknowledgment while the more disabled of their number simply waved a working limb. But they set to work, splitting up to search the structure and trying their best to shamble around the flames.
Jason turned his eyes to the staircase. His thoughts were on Cecil. He wanted to save as many of the students as possible, but the small man was vital – assuming he was still alive. They could replace a novice, but there was no substitute for experience. With that grim thought, he set off, making his way up the stairs as best as he could.
As he reached the second floor, a wave of heat struck him, the blast feeling almost like a solid wall of force. The warmth was so oppressive that he had to fight to move forward, the hem of his cloak clinging to his mouth but doing little to filter the smoke that filled the room. Red notifications were flashing in his peripheral vision, informing him that he was having difficulty breathing – as if he couldn’t tell. His arms and legs were already feeling heavier than normal.
He didn’t have long.
He fought against the heat and flames as he forced himself to keep moving through the hallway. The fire lapped at his armor and cloak, singing the material. He knew Cecil’s office was near the source of the explosion and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the door was still intact. He didn’t waste time with the doorknob, giving the wood a hard kick. The door promptly splintered inward with a renewed rush of flame.
Awaken Online: Dominion Page 37