The problem with so many Energy Orbs being used for something like this, however, was that the spherical objects had trouble staying inside of the Elves’ delicate hands. Even if they managed to hold onto them, Sandra wasn’t sure how much they would impede the use of those hands; while 2 Orbs had been embedded in Elder Herrlot’s palms without too much difficulty, it had been already pushing the bounds of what the body could handle in such a small space.
Using Elemental Orbs was an option, giving them the “brand” anywhere on their body, but Sandra thought someone who could use so many types of elemental energy would prefer to have the Energy Orbs for regenerative purposes. When Echo was asked, she received an affirmative.
“I agree; I just wish that I had gotten the choice when I first bonded, because I can see the benefit of having the Orbs always touching my skin and not shrinking down when used.”
That was certainly a thought that Sandra had considered before, but hadn’t really had a chance to see if it worked before now. Well, why don’t you try it while I’m trying to figure this out?
“What? You can do that?”
I’m not sure, but we can try. If it doesn’t work, then even that will be good to know.
“Is there any danger?”
Sandra hesitated. I…don’t think so? There shouldn’t be, but as I haven’t done it before, I don’t know for sure.
Now it was Echo’s turn to hesitate as she looked at the box of Energy Orbs. Coming to a decision, she reached down and pulled out a white and a yellow Large Energy Orb, holding the Holy one in her right hand, with the Air in her left. She stared at them for a moment, before she nodded. “Do it.”
Just a reminder, this will hurt. Another nod. Okay, Bonding in 3, 2—
She didn’t wait for 1, as she didn’t want Echo to brace for it; whether or not that would make a difference in the pain she experienced was unknown, but Sandra always felt it was better to just get it over with. The Elf cried out in a primal scream of unimaginable pain as she collapsed to her knees – and Sandra smiled internally. The incongruence of pain being heaped upon her friend and her reaction to it wasn’t lost on the Dungeon Core, but she knew she wasn’t happy about the pain; she was happy because the pain meant that the process was working.
Though, Sandra had to admit that it was taking a bit longer than usual. Normally, the whole process only took a few seconds, but Echo screamed for nearly 10 before she collapsed on the floor. When she finally recovered and got to her knees again, Sandra could see the 2 Orbs stuck in her palms, appearing “normal” – as normal as having Energy Orbs embedded in the skin was, of course.
That wasn’t the only change, however; the gear-like brands on her cheeks, where Sandra had been forced to place the Elemental Orbs originally when Echo was spasming from the snake venom, were now gone, having been moved down to her palms around the Orbs. I wonder if that was why it took so long?
“That…was…the worst thing…I’ve ever felt in my life. Is it that bad for everyone?” Echo panted out as she got to her feet, her eyes appearing a little haunted as she stared at her palms.
Sandra explained what she thought had happened, and how it took longer than usual, which only got a few nods in response. Echo closed her eyes and shuddered a few times, before she shook her whole body as if to get rid of any lingering pain. “I can’t say it isn’t worth it, but I never want to have to go through something like that ever again.”
At least this means that I can use Elemental Orbs to start the Bonding process, and hopefully I can figure out how to get the Energy Orbs into them at a later date. That made things much easier, in fact, because it was easy enough to arrange Elemental Orbs on their bare stomachs, as opposed to trying to get their hands to hold them. An experiment with some of her Orc mercenaries a few days prior showed that trying to embed the Energy Orbs anywhere else on their body didn’t work, so palms were the only alternative for some reason.
It took about 10 minutes of attempting to Bond the two Elves with different combinations of Elemental Orbs before there was success; it would’ve been longer, but knowing that the Queen likely had access to what the King did not sped up the process. The King ended up having all the elements but Natural and Holy, whereas the Queen didn’t have access to Nether and Fire. Even after seeing it succeed, Sandra still had trouble believing that 2 people could be that powerful. They would make awesome Enchanters.
The thought of Enchanting caused Sandra to do 2 things. One, she went to check up on Violet and the Gnome Princess, quickly finding them in Violet’s room down below, with Princess Celeste in her coma in Felbar’s former bed. The Dungeon Core wanted to finally ask Violet what happened and where she had been, but the obviously exhausted Journeyman Enchanter was sprawled out sleeping on her own bed.
Two, she suddenly had a thought of how to solve a few problems, by continuing what she had been working on before the Golem-Classification Dungeon Core had finished its upgrade. But first, she needed to get Echo and the two Royal personages downstairs; now that the two new Elves – strangely enough, when she looked at her Visitor’s List, their names were King and Queen – were Bonded, they needed somewhere to rest as well. They hadn’t woken up from whatever ailed them, so hopefully some sleep would do them some good.
Sandra expanded the room that Echo had used while she had been staying in the dungeon, utilizing some additional Mana to create materials for making a pair of beds. While she was doing that, she had two of her constructs arrive to pick up and transport the Royals down below.
I’m making a place where they can rest right now, but I’m also working on a solution for the Energy Orbs, as well. While we move, why don’t you tell me why they were unconscious in the first place, and why you think they didn’t wake up after the Bond. After that, I’ll tell you what’s been going on around here.
They started to walk, making their way down below via the VATS, and Echo started to explain what had happened to her from the beginning. “Well, I’m sure it won’t surprise you to know that Elder Herrlot was up to something – but it was something completely different than either you or I expected….”
Chapter 35
It turned out that a lot had happened to Echo when she had gone back to her homeland to get help. The story that she had been essentially imprisoned for days on end, and then held underground as she was pulled into some sort of plot to save the King and Queen from the machinations of someone named the Chamberlain, was almost too unbelievable to be real. It was only the fact that the King and Queen were in her dungeon right now that allowed Sandra to believe that what Echo had described had actually happened.
By the time that the two Royals were comfortable in their new beds that Sandra crafted with inordinate speed thanks to some Goblin Crafters, the poor Ranger appeared as exhausted as Violet had after she had arrived. You can get some sleep, too, and I’ll wake you up if there is any change in the King and Queen. Sandra was trying to be positive, but from what she could determine, there really hadn’t been a change in the 2 Elves even after Bonding. Then again, she didn’t really know anything about this mind-control thing Echo had described – and it didn’t sound like Echo really did, either – so it was entirely possible that they would wake up at any time. Do you want me to let a certain someone know you’re back?
Echo jumped in startlement as she stared longingly at her own bed, and a heavy blush suffused the Elf’s cheeks at Sandra’s question. “Umm…no.” She looked down at herself, obviously seeing the dirt and sweat that even the Dungeon Core saw was coating her body and clothes. “I really need to get some sleep and wash before I see…anyone.”
Perfectly understandable. Let me know if you need anything; if I don’t respond, you may need to figure it out on your own until I’m back in control. At first, Sandra had been wary of letting the Elf know exactly what was going on with her Core and her mind. After a brief internal conversation with herself, however, she realized that it was better to be open and honest with her friend. As she revealed man
y of the things that Sandra hadn’t even described to Winxa about her inner mind, she felt relieved, as strange as that sounded.
She’d never had friends before when she was alive and living as a merchant – at least none that she felt comfortable sharing secrets about herself. With Echo, Violet, Kelerim, and even Gerold, she felt as if there was something special about them that caused her to want to open up and share.
Before she dug too deep into that, wasting time that could be better spent crafting, she dedicated her focus as Echo lay down to sleep on her problem with Energy Orbs. Not only was it something that could benefit her crafting, but it could also solve the problem with the King and Queen being able to use all of their vast access to the elements in combination with Energy Orbs. Even if they decided not to embed Energy Orbs in their palms, to have to carry around 6 Energy Orbs on a necklace or some other type of jewelry would be more than a bit cumbersome.
Winxa had brought up the “impossibility” of combining two elements together in a single Elemental Orb, and Sandra hadn’t had a chance to prove or disprove that theory. After checking on the tunnels again and informing the Shieldmen and Rangers to stand by in case there was an aboveground attack, Sandra turned her attention back to her upper workshop. If something went wrong, it was far enough away from her Core that she was confident in her safety – and the safety of everyone else currently residing in her dungeon.
Focusing on the entrance of the workshop near the old Bearling lair – which was even safer for anyone around – Sandra began to experiment. Starting with Fire Mana, she brought out exactly 50 units of it, causing it to condense in place, similar to how she had first discovered how to create Elemental Orbs of different sizes in the first place. A glowing red orb of condensed Mana floated in the middle of the Bearling lair, though it wasn’t as condensed as she could make it—because it wasn’t done yet. Then, taking 50 units of Water Mana, she brought it out and condensed it in a similar fashion, until she had two mostly condensed orbs floating next to each other.
Then she forcibly tried to combine them.
She was certainly glad that she had begun her experimentation where nothing and no one would get hurt, because when the two types of raw Mana touched, there was an explosion that tore chunks out of the stone ceiling and floor of the lair with how much force it expended in less than a second. As the dust settled, Sandra saw that a portion of the wall had collapsed, but overall it hadn’t done as much damage as she had feared. Where did I go wrong? she thought, which was quickly followed up by, I have to remember that for the future if I need to blow something up.
“What happened?”
Sandra explained what had occurred to Winxa, and the Fairy nodded as if the result was obvious. “You tried to combine Fire…and Water?” Winxa asked with a hint of suggestion in her voice.
“Yes—oh. Yeah, okay.” It seemed very obvious now that she thought about it; even with enchanting, combining Fire and Water-based rune sequences (as well as any other elemental opposites like Holy and Nether) was a very tricky business, because they tended not to play well with each other. Using a catalyst was usually the only way to get them to work together, and even then you had to make sure the two rune sequences only touched through the catalyst, otherwise…BOOM! It usually wasn’t as spectacular of an explosion as this just was, but Sandra was using Mana, which was quite a bit more potent than the elemental energy that people had access to in their bodies. Some things that the Dungeon Core had created – like the War Machine and Deep Divers she had created – used two opposite elements together (Spirit and Natural), but they were technically two different enchantments that worked to accomplish a goal, not one whole enchantment combined.
Can I use a catalyst? She thought about it for a little bit, but she couldn’t think of anything that was unsubstantial enough to be used for the creation of an Elemental Orb. That, and she had the distinct impression that such a thing would be impossible while manipulating Mana in the way that she was doing. So…how?
When nothing came to mind, she switched up her tactics. She needed to prove her concept was going to work in the first place, and then she would look into combining opposite elements. This time, she pulled out 50 Fire Mana and 50 Earth Mana…and braced as she forcibly combined them together.
Luckily, there was no immediate explosion – but there was some pushback from the Mana. The two different elements just pushed against each other in a ball of swirling red and brown colors, steadfastly refusing to combine like oil settling on top of water. No matter what she tried, even devoting more of her concentration to force them to combine, condensing them further and further, nothing happened. She mentally felt the swirling ball in the middle of the room was close to succeeding, but something was obviously missing.
A quick thought caused her to change the swirling ball into a cube, as it had helped her to condense larger amounts of Mana in the past. Despite it being easier to condense both elements together, still nothing happened; no solidifying of a new dual-element Orb or Cube.
Sandra nearly gave up, but thoughts of the other crafting she had done lately intruded on her thoughts. Not the Silver and Gold PEEs she had enchanted, but her gem-cutting and shaping for the powerful enchantments that were required. It was the various facets that were cut into a gemstone that provided the structure to the enchantment, itself, so why not Elemental Orbs?
A cube obviously wasn’t working with its 6 sides or “facets”, so Sandra tried to think of the shapes she used for gemstones. The problem with picking one was that they were so varied by type, with some having a dozen facets, while others had 40 or more. They all had a general shape of a “sphere”, however – it just depended on how many flat-surfaced sides it needed in order to achieve that form.
Two of the PEEs, however, needed a dodecahedron – a 12-sided shape – for their gem to be cut correctly, so Sandra thought that it was probably a good place to start. Fortunately, it was much easier to think of the different facets than to actually shape them with a grinder, and within a minute she had formed the shape with the 2 elements combined together. When they were in place and still pushing against each other, Sandra removed her concentration from everything else in the dungeon, focusing on this one thing. With every iota of concentration, she forced the Fire and Earth Mana to condense down smaller and smaller, until there was barely a distinction between the two colors.
New Monster Seed created using your Advanced Elemental Monster Seed Origination
skill!
You now have access to:
Tiny Fire-Earth Elemental Gem
Origination Raw Material Cost: 0
Origination Mana Cost: 100
Monster Min. Mana: 25
Monster Max. Mana: 100
Currently locked:
Small Fire-Earth Elemental Gem
Average Fire-Earth Elemental Gem
Large Fire-Earth Elemental Gem
The new Gem appeared where the Mana had been, floating in the air for a split-second before falling to the floor of the Bearling lair with a *tink*, rolling to a stop after a brief bounce. Sandra could only look on with pleased shock as she read over the notification, seeing that she had succeeded and was barely able to believe it.
Hey, Winxa…I DID IT! It’s not impossible, after all!
If she had legs, Sandra knew she’d be dancing around in glee, and it was only the knowledge that she could’ve probably done this weeks ago that stifled a little of her joy. Then again, she probably hadn’t really needed it until now, so she assumed that it really didn’t make all that much difference.
“What? That’s…impossibly awesome.” Winxa seemed worn out, as if another impossibility being achieved by Sandra was wearing on her. That didn’t really faze Sandra, though, because she was still excited by her discovery; so much so that she created one inside of her Home room – as a Monster Seed, not using the wildly unpredictable results of free-floating Mana like her experiments up above required – and it appeared a moment later. Instead of
a swirling mass of Mana in two different colors, the new Fire-Earth Gem appeared to be more of a maroon color, a mixture of both red and brown together.
“That’s amazing, Sandra,” the Dungeon Fairy said, taking a closer look at the new Gem. “Now…how many elements can you put in a single Gem?”
That was a good question, and one that Sandra was going to find out. Before that, however, she created more combinations of dual-element Gems that weren’t opposites, and found them as easy to create as everything else. In fact, after the Fire-Earth one was complete, she didn’t even need all of her concentration to make the rest. In total, she created 24 out of 28 dual-element combinations, the 4 opposite-element ones being the only ones that she wasn’t able to create.
Knowing that she still wanted to figure those out at some point in the future, but moving on to what she could accomplish, Sandra experimented with 3 elements. First up was Fire, Earth, and Nether; with 50 Mana of each element, she did the same thing as with the 2 different elements—and it worked spectacularly.
New Monster Seed created using your Advanced Elemental Monster Seed Origination
skill!
You now have access to:
Tiny Fire-Earth-Nether Elemental Gem
Origination Raw Material Cost: 0
Origination Mana Cost: 150
Monster Min. Mana: 50
Monster Max. Mana: 150
Currently locked:
Small Fire-Earth-Nether Elemental Gem
Average Fire-Earth-Nether Elemental Gem
Large Fire-Earth-Nether Elemental Gem
The color of this particular Gem was a very dark brown – nearly black – and had a reddish tint to it when it was looked at the right way. She experimented with other 3-color combinations, though she didn’t make all of them – because she wanted to see how far she could push her newfound knowledge.
The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5) Page 35
