They had been recording data from the summoning halls that allowed people to soul bind a creature to them. In the last week, people had gone nuts and most Stone Raiders were eager to gain a companion that could increase their fighting ability.
Others went for the cute factor or a mix of both. The end result was a whole lot of summoned creatures in a very short time. People outside of the Stone Raiders had also paid for the privilege. It was expensive, but doing it through a summoner was not a guaranteed thing.
“Worth a try.” Bob shrugged.
“Well, first we create an anchor point, then we ship over a portal. Open it there and in the seeder so we have a direct line. We can also add in onos from the Pandora’s box facility to the seeder, which is going to turn into our portal and teleportation hub,” Dave said.
“Well, we won’t need to work it that much at the beginning. Later on, when we start expanding outward and need to reach more places, we’ll have to move more items over there,” Malsour said.
“Then we need to get working on the factories for mass production,” Bob said.
Jung Lee, who had been listening to the entire conversation, sighed and shook his head. These three men were talking about technology and exploits that they were arranging as if it were nothing more than another day at work.
They were smart, driven, and more than a little willing to do something crazy, all of which came together to make them all the more impressive and dangerous. He might be the highest leveled person in the room, but at that time, he felt as if he were the weakest one. These three people would change not only the world, but the universe with their machinations.
Dave, Malsour, Bob, Jekoni, and Jung Lee went to the teleportation array to gain access to the different “summoning realms” they needed to change a lot of the array’s settings over to.
After a few minutes, Jung Lee created a few dozen spirits that moved beyond his body to help move the different items.
“Hmm, they’re similar to summoned creatures as they follow their soul-bound master’s commands. Though, there is no loss in Willpower to send them out and control them. It’s more like they’re an extra limb than anything else.” Malsour studied the spirits moving around the teleportation array.
“I have noticed that I feel as if there is less power that I am able to draw from,” Jung Lee said.
“Would make sense. They’re splitting off from the source. These are much more docile creatures compared to the true Free Affinity spirits. If they were to stay away from you like the other Free Affinity spirits they would then disappear. Regaining the strength that they took to form would take awhile,” Bob said.
“What if they were to die?” Dave asked.
“Well, I think that they would lose a portion of their power, but most of it would make it back to Jung Lee.” Bob shrugged. “Though, I’m not sure. I’ve never seen someone who has a Free Affinity spirit from every Affinity in their body. It’s pretty exciting!”
The spirits finished their work and returned to Jung Lee.
“Okay, there might not be air on the other side, so create big Mana shields so that you retain some air from here.” Dave moved out of the teleportation array room.
“Where are you going?” Malsour yelled after him.
“I need that damn anchor!” Dave said.
Jekoni floated into the room. “This magical coding system is amazing!” Jekoni declared, waving his hands out wide.
“It certainly makes things easier,” Malsour said.
“What’s this?” Jekoni rushed around the room.
“Teleport array and general gravity manipulation chamber,” Bob said.
“Hey, who’s talking about my baby?” Dave returned to the room.
“You got it?” Malsour asked.
“One portal anchor ready and waiting.” Dave tapped his faithful bag of holding.
“Well, let’s fire her up!” Bob clapped his hands together.
“One trip to Emerilia’s moon coming up!” Dave smacked the console in front of him.
The teleportation array hummed with power as runes lit along the walls and in the racks around the room.
Jung Lee looked around, his eyebrows rising. The power running through the room was not inconsiderable. He doubted someone with fifty grand soul gems would be able to support the high Mana output.
“Why is the output so high?” Jekoni asked.
“Well, this is supposed to be a one-way transition point. We’re basically using the power from the teleportation array to lock onto that transition point and punch a hole through space. Think of a slide. We’re at the bottom of it. With the teleportation array, we’re punching from the bottom of the slide to the top without us having to try to climb up the slide. It’s much more power to climb up a slide than just go down it,” Dave said.
Jekoni and Jung Lee shared a look.
“There really are no limits to people’s imaginations and things they can do,” Jekoni said in quiet praise.
“If these people were alive when we were, they would have been knocked out and locked up,” Jung Lee said.
“Heh, those were good times.” The corners of Jekoni’s mouth twitched upward.
The power reached the center of the teleportation array. One moment, they could see to the rune-covered wall on the other side of the room. The next, they were looking into a pitch-black room of some kind with a shimmering light surrounding it.
***
A screen appeared in front of Dave’s face.
Quest Completed: Master of Space and Time Level 14
Come up with new possible theory (2/2)
Rewards: Unlock Level 15 quest
+15 to Willpower
+15 to Intelligence
+15 to Endurance
+15 to Agility
1,400,000 Experience
Quest: Master of Space and Time Level 15
Come up with new possible theory (2/3)
Rewards: Unlock Level 16 quest
Increase to stats
Class: Master of Space and Time
Status:
Level 14
Effects:
Greater understanding of Space and Time.
+210 to Willpower
+210 to Intelligence
+210 to Endurance
+210 to Agility
Quest Completed: Master of Gravitational Anomalies Level 10
Come up with new possible theory (2/2)
Rewards: Unlock Level 11 quest
+10 to all stats
1,000,000 Experience
Quest: Master of Gravitational Anomalies Level 11
Come up with new possible theory (2/3)
Rewards: Unlock Level 12 quest
Increase to stats
Class: Master of Gravitational Anomalies
Status:
Level 10
Effects:
Greater understanding of Gravitational Anomalies.
+100 to all stats
Quest Completed: Librarian Level 4
Use research to prove a theory
Rewards: Unlock Level 5 Quest
+10 to all stats
400,000 Experience
Class: Librarian
Status:
Level 4
Effects:
+40 to all stats
Read 5% faster
Understand 10% more of the information that you read
Quest: Librarian Level 5
Use research to prove a theory (1/2)
Rewards: Unlock Level 5 Quest
Increase to stats
Active Skill: Teleportation
Level: Master Level 4
Effect: Able to create a device to teleport across distances.
Level 238
You have reached Level 238; you have 5 stat points to use.
“Yes.” Dave put the five stat points directly into Intelligence and quickly checked his new stats.
Character Sheet
Name:
David Grahslagg
&
nbsp; Gender:
Male
Level:
238
Class:
Dwarven Master Smith, Friend of the Grey God, Bleeder, Librarian, Aleph Engineer, Weapons Master, Champion Slayer, Skill Creator, Mine Manager, Master of Space and Time, Master of Gravitational Anomalies
Race:
Human/Dwarf
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral
Unspent points: 0
Health:
48,100
Regen:
24.02 /s
Mana:
15,780
Regen:
57.95 /s
Stamina:
5,320
Regen:
50.15 /s
Vitality:
481
Endurance:
1,201
Intelligence:
1,578
Willpower:
1,159
Strength:
532
Agility:
1,003
He quickly dismissed the screen.
“We’re stable for now.” Dave pulled out metal plates from his pocket. “These are called Band-Aids. They can disrupt Jukal signals to your interface. This means they can’t activate the kill switch in our bodies and has the added benefit of making them unable to see where we are or what we’re doing. While on Emerilia, it will be hazy. On the moon, they won’t even sense us.”
He tossed them out and everyone took one.
“Hey, where’s my invite?” Steve asked from the doorway.
“Well, you’ve been cooped up in your workshop for so long we didn’t know what you were doing in there.” Malsour shrugged. Dave and Bob both let out short laughs at Malsour’s hint.
“Hey, just gotta knock first.” Steve winked.
“I don’t think I want to even think of what you’re doing in there.” Dave sighed and tossed Steve a plate.
“Shall we get going?” Jung Lee asked.
“Did the voices tell you to say that?” Steve’s eyes thinned.
“Voices?” Jung Lee asked, confused.
“Well, you’ve got like seven creatures inside you. Might be a bit full in there.” Steve shrugged.
“You need to stop referencing the bad movies you’ve been watching.” Dave sighed as he moved for the wormhole in the middle of the room. A gray shield extending a few feet outside of his body solidified.
“Hey, well, at least I’m ready for an exorcism or two! And a zombie plague! Which would be soo cool, by the way!” Steve said.
“Seems he hasn’t changed much,” Bob said to Malsour as they followed Dave, who’d disappeared through the wormhole.
“I think he’s getting worse the more time he spends around the Stone Raiders,” Malsour complained.
“You are a Stone Raider.” Jung Lee followed them as Jekoni continued to study Steve as Steve poked his spiritual body, his finger going through Jekoni’s face.
“Boop,” Steve said.
“Will you stop that?” Jekoni’s eyebrow twitched as he fought with his emotions. He was a great archmage of Per’Ush and now he was being poked by a rune-covered trash can that acted no different than an interested five-year-old.
“Never seen a ghost before. You’re a rather noisy one. Thought that they just said boo?” Steve said.
“You’re one to talk! Nothing you’ve said has made any sense since I met you!” The two of them continued to bicker as Malsour turned to Jung Lee.
“I call it the Stone Raiders effect. You learn to relax to the max when you get free time and then in a serious situation, you can immediately focus on the task at hand,” Malsour said.
Jung Lee nodded. The Stone Raiders were a lively bunch when they weren’t exploring, raiding, or on various quests. He’d seen how they acted on a raid. Working together, they were a force to be taken seriously.
Malsour and Bob both created shields around themselves. Jung Lee did the same as he passed through the teleport array’s wormhole.
Jekoni’s spiritual body disappeared from Emerilia and reappeared on the moon.
Jung Lee looked around.
Dave had cast mage light spells, filling the area with light.
Party Chat invite
You have been invited to the private party: One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Do you wish to join?
Y/N
Jung Lee accepted the request.
“Leap for mankind? Really? That’s a crap name,” Bob said as Jung Lee joined the chat.
“Hey, it was a great quote, and we’re the first people from Emerilia to ever be on this moon, so I’d say that it’s pretty accurate,” Dave said.
The atmosphere on the moon was thin, meaning that they had to rely on the air they’d brought with them and it also made talking impossible other than through the private party chat.
Steve entered the chat with Jekoni.
Jung Lee looked around the large storage area.
There were automated robotic limbs waiting along the roof on runners that would allow them to move freely. Along the walls, there were multiple crates with barcodes on them. The storage facility was massive, extending into the distance.
Nearly a kilometer in the distance, a circle lit up, showing a creature within a shield before they disappeared.
A limb that was over the circle lifted upward, carrying a box that was identical to the ones on the wall.
“This is the storage and distribution area for the summoned creatures. As someone summons a creature, it activates this system here. A creature is pulled from the storage racks, placed on the circle, and then transmitted to the summoning circle.
“There are also growing facilities that make these creatures as well as fusion reactors and material storage areas for the different nutrients and substrates needed to create and maintain these creatures,” Bob said.
“Well, we don’t have much time till our air runs out. We should get working,” Dave said. Everyone seemed to be pulled into the air as they raced off, leaving the shimmering wormhole that showed the teleportation array on the other side.
They raced through the storage facilities, ducking into a large hallway with multiple sealed doors. Bob opened them ahead of time. They closed behind them.
It wasn’t long until they came out into an area filled with storage bins.
They swung away from where they’d entered.
“Malsour?” Dave asked.
Malsour held his hand out. As it looked as if they were going to fly into a wall, the bland gray walls opened for them. The wall closed behind them; darkness surrounded them until Bob created a mage light. The rock ahead of them seemed to dissolve as the rock behind them reformed.
They went a few hundred meters before Dave brought them to a halt.
Malsour moved his hands, black shadows covering his body as he went to work. Jung Lee could sense what he was doing. He pulled all manner of resources from the surrounding area, and then compacted and firmed up the rock, creating massive supports as a facility started to form. They were on the ground floor of it. Every fifty meters, there were massive compacted and reinforced stone supports, creating squares through the area.
Cylinders flew from Dave. These automated carvers were nearly five hundred strong as they spread outward. White Mithril tips came from one end, cutting into the walls and leaving lines of runes across the growing open area.
Malsour pushed the ceilings up fifty meters while Steve tossed out mage lights that attached to the pillars, lighting up the massive area.
Bob moved to where the right edge of the facility would be. With a wave of his hands, a complicated number of runes were laid out around the open space. He unfolded a bag of holding he was carrying until it was nearly ten meters wide.
He held the edge. Like a magic trick back on Earth, as he lifted the bag from the floor, a ten-meter-wide metallic stand appeared on the floor. On top of the five-meter-tall stand, there was a metal sphere with a radius of ten meters.<
br />
The two metallic objects were covered in runes, as well as pipes and different lines.
Jung Lee and Jekoni looked on in awe as in front of their very eyes, a facility was being born.
Bob pulled out what looked like a box created from soul gems. Inside there was an ebony box with glowing runes.
Jekoni and Jung Lee’s eyes stuck to the box. The rich Mana signature of the item was alarming.
Bob threw it to Dave.
He took the box and placed it against the wall. His army of carving cylinders were making short work of the walls.
The soul gem box expanded outward and grabbed onto the wall. The soul gem expanded across the wall, like frost rapidly forming on a window.
The soul gem filled in the different runes that had been formed, glowing with power.
Dave floated over to Bob while Malsour walked forward. As he did so, the stone in front of him parted, moving up and down, to reveal solid stone pillars and piles of resources on the ground.
“The runes are so that no one can sense what we’re doing in here, an added safety precaution. Also, they’ll allow people to walk around with some gravity. The only reason we’re not floating off is because Dave’s orbs are exerting the same gravity on us as we would have on Emerilia. That box-looking thing that the soul gem sheet is growing out of is a Mana well. The soul gem will power the runes. Later on, it can be commanded to grow the different machines and items that Bob will need to create people.
“That sphere-looking thing on the pedestal is a fusion reactor. It can pump out more power than a dozen Aleph power stations.” Steve pointed to Bob, who was with the same massive bag of holding, revealing what looked like big metal lockers. “Those are factories to make the repair bots and mining drills this place is going to need.”
Jung Lee looked at it all. In less than fifteen minutes, they’d pulled out these artifacts and they had built a facility two hundred meters wide, one hundred long, and growing.
Emerilia Series Box Set 4 Page 3