The soul gem constructs consumed the power that they had stored within them, making the base structure of the different things that had been programmed into them.
The second miner didn’t have these stealth runes. It was nearly ten times the size and it was hooked up directly to storage chests that would stay behind it, ready to be changed out by carts and cargo shuttles.
This had multiple Light drills that would create a beam of golden light that would cut through the interior of an asteroid at an alarming rate. These would be as fast as twenty of the original miners that were running through the asteroid. With it, hollowing out an asteroid would be much more efficient, taking much less time.
While it cut out the main thoroughfare of the shipyard that would be inside the asteroid, the smaller miners would be able to cut out the hallways and slips that would run down the asteroid shipyard.
Dave finished making ten soul gem constructs of the first miner and two of the large-scale miner. As he finished with them, they would disappear from his hands as he teleported them across the asteroid to the few catwalks that jutted out from the wall that the portal corridors and fusion plants were located behind.
These small little sections of rock that jutted outwards were about ten meters wide and one hundred long and were spread out every five hundred meters. These were what the slips of the shipyard would be built out from, the slips would then hold one or more ships as they were being held at readiness or were being worked on
It would take some time before all of the slips were filled with working ships. But now with the soul gem constructs, all it took was enough power. Their fusion plants were operational and the ice planet was refining enough fuel to meet the demands that Pandora’s Box’s creators needed.
They were stockpiling more for the fusion reactors that would be built within the different warships. The Mana expenditure was simply astronomical.
Once he had finished with the different base soul gem constructs that were now growing where the slips would be constructed, he started forming the cargo shuttles. These were automated creations that would handle most of the cargo within the system. So, Dave went ahead and put in the right coding so that Jeeves could command them.
They would be covered in the ovaloid-looking repulsor units and drive units that would allow them to cross space. Its rear section was one entire box of holding. They could be chained together, much like how train carts were attached to one another.
The shuttle could drop them off and then attach all of the filled containers and fly back toward the main asteroid mining base, dropping off the storage boxes to be separated down by ore and then stuffed into automated carts that would take these back to the refinery on the ice planet to be processed.
The shuttles were, like the miners that would operate outside the asteroids, covered in stealth magical coding. Even heat exchangers were being put in to simply make sure that the ambient temperature around the shuttles wasn’t more or less than the surrounding area.
If someone was able to plot where the shuttles were, then they could figure out where the bases were within the asteroid belt.
Dave made three of these, teleporting them out to different areas to allow them to grow. Dave looked toward where he and Malsour had entered the center of the shipyard. The soul gem constructs powered by the fusion reactors of the asteroid base were now racing across the floor with runic lines in them, guiding the power outward. They spread out at an incredible speed, covering the floors and then reaching out across the interior of the shipyard. They reached the slips, diverting with runic lines of power leading the way.
As they touched the different soul gem constructs that were resting against the slips, they started to grow at an incredible rate.
The soul gem construct from the fusion plant brought with it gravity and strip lighting as it raced toward either end of the shipyard, where the miners were currently hard at work.
Dave held a soul gem construct in his hands. Above it, there was a sharp-looking ship, with missile tubes and gun tubes that looked like bristles. The drive units on it were larger and the Mana barrier projectors were massive.
This was what the battleships in the moon should have been. It was a melding of the magical coding and technology that Dave knew of and matched with information he had got from Bob about the Jukal ships, as well as human ships and the information that Sato and his people had shared.
From all of this amassed information, Jeeves, Steve, Dave, Malsour, and Bob had created something that demanded respect. This melded technologies that the Emerilia AI would have freaked out over and Dave wasn’t willing to use even in his secret bases within Emerilia or its moon.
The soul gem construct in Dave’s hands disappeared. Reappearing in a slip, it grew rapidly. From it, support beams that ran the length of the ship creating its “spine,” extended; other supports spread outward, creating the superstructure of the ship.
Dave created a half-dozen more of the soul gem constructs and sent them outward into the various slips.
In these slips, nearly twenty different items were being created at the same time.
Dave’s focus was not on the miners, nor the cargo shuttles or the impressive battleships. Instead, it was on the simple ring-looking three-dimensional image that floated above the soul gem he had just modified.
The Jukal made hundreds of portals. Let’s see if I can make one or two.
Dave lowered the soul gem construct into a groove at his feet. Runic lines flared around the soul gem construct as the asteroid base’s soul gem interior poured power into Dave’s soul gem construct.
From the catwalk, much slower than the beams or the other soul gem constructs, a base started to appear—a base, that looked similar to a portal’s.
His notifications, which had been blinking for a while but he’d forgotten about, now once again blinked rapidly.
“Seems that I’ve churned up a notification storm.”
Dave opened his notifications, blinking at the number of prompts.
“Lovely—stat points.” Dave rubbed his hands together and went through the screens.
Quest Completed: Librarian Level 7
Use research to prove a theory (8/3)
Rewards: Unlock Level 8 Quest
+10 to all stats
700,000 Experience
Quest Completed: Librarian Level 8
Use research to prove a theory (8/4)
Rewards: Unlock Level 9 Quest
+10 to all stats
800,000 Experience (1,500,000 Experience accumulated)
Quest Completed: Librarian Level 9
Use research to prove a theory (8/5)
Rewards: Unlock Level 10 Quest
+10 to all stats
900,000 Experience (2,400,000 Experience accumulated)
Quest Completed: Librarian Level 10
Use research to prove a theory (8/6)
Rewards: Unlock Level 11 Quest
+10 to all stats
1,00,000 Experience (3,400,000 Experience accumulated)
Quest Completed: Librarian Level 11
Use research to prove a theory (8/7)
Rewards: Unlock Level 12 Quest
+10 to all stats
1,100,000 Experience (4,500,000 Experience accumulated)
Quest Completed: Librarian Level 12
Use research to prove a theory (8/8)
Rewards: Unlock Level 13 Quest
+10 to all stats
1,200,000 Experience (5,700,000 Experience accumulated)
Class: Librarian
Status:
Level 12
Effects:
+120 to all stats
Read 10% faster
Understand 15% more of the information that you read
Quest: Librarian Level 13
Use research to prove a theory (8/9)
Rewards: Unlock Level 14 Quest
Increase to stats
Dave turned pensive.
“These must be not only
from starting work on the portal but actually the anchors and moving portals around as well as my own teleporting around.”,” As Dave stopped talking, his eyes went wide. “Wait. If, if I had six theories I researched and proved, what were the theories about?”
Dave’s voice shook a bit as he continued through his notifications.
Quest Completed: Master of Space and Time Level 15
Come up with new possible theory (6/3)
Rewards: Unlock Level 16 quest
+15 to Willpower
+15 to Intelligence
+15 to Endurance
+15 to Agility
1,500,000 Experience
Quest Completed: Master of Space and Time Level 16
Come up with new possible theory (6/4)
Rewards: Unlock Level 17 quest
+15 to Willpower
+15 to Intelligence
+15 to Endurance
+15 to Agility
1,600,000 Experience (3,100,000 Experience accumulated)
Quest Completed: Master of Space and Time Level 17
Come up with new possible theory (6/5)
Rewards: Unlock Level 18 quest
+15 to Willpower
+15 to Intelligence
+15 to Endurance
+15 to Agility
1,700,000 Experience (4,800,000 Experience accumulated)
Quest Completed: Master of Space and Time Level 18
Come up with new possible theory (6/6)
Rewards: Unlock Level 19 quest
+15 to Willpower
+15 to Intelligence
+15 to Endurance
+15 to Agility
1,800,000 Experience (6,600,000 Experience accumulated)
Class: Master of Space and Time
Status:
Level 18
Effects:
Greater understanding of Space and Time
+270 to Willpower
+270 to Intelligence
+270 to Endurance
+270 to Agility
Quest: Master of Space and Time Level 19
Come up with new possible theory (6/7)
Rewards: Unlock Level 20 quest
Increase to stats
Dave could feel as his body was already starting to change. Cold sweat fell down his back. He’d had four theories related to space and time that he’d proved; there were still two more theories that he’d proved right.
He quickly sent Malsour a message saying where he was as he felt a torrent of power only barely being held back. Knowing how dumping in stats could overload a person, Dave didn’t dare to think about trying to keep working with all the changes that were happening in his body.
He quickly continued onward, a mix of excitement and nervousness.
Quest Completed: Master of Gravitational Anomalies Level 11
Come up with new possible theory (4/3)
Rewards: Unlock Level 12 quest
+10 to all stats
1,100,000 Experience
Quest Completed: Master of Gravitational Anomalies Level 12
Come up with new possible theory (4/4)
Rewards: Unlock Level 13 quest
+10 to all stats
1,200,000 Experience (2,300,000 Experience accumulated)
Class: Master of Gravitational Anomalies
Status:
Level 12
Effects:
Greater understanding of Gravitational Anomalies
+120 to all stats
Quest: Master of Gravitational Anomalies Level 13
Come up with new possible theory (4/5)
Rewards: Unlock Level 14 quest
Increase to stats
Level 255
You have reached Level 261; you have 30 stat points to use.
Dave’s character sheet showed up as power started to surge through every part of his body.
Character Sheet
Name:
David Grahslagg
Gender:
Male
Level:
261
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 Good
Unspent points: 30
Health:
50,100
Regen:
27.62 /s
Mana:
16,280
Regen:
66.95 /s
Stamina:
5,520
Regen:
58.90 /s
Vitality:
581
Endurance:
1,381
Intelligence:
1,768
Willpower:
1,339
Strength:
632
Agility:
1,178
Active Skill: Teleportation
Level: Master Level 3
Effect: Able to create a device to teleport across distances.
Dave closed the screen as an almost tyrannical energy seemed to be tearing him apart from the inside and re-creating him. The surge of over seven hundred stat points rushed through his body. His mind became clearer as his body’s strength increased in leaps and bounds. The runic lines across his body surged with energy; he glowed with power as his aura underwent a massive change with the increase of power.
With the interlinking of classes that were suited toward what he was doing, these kinds of surges were possible. In the space of a few minutes, it was as if he had gained over a hundred levels—a nearly impossible feat even if he was to kill thousands, but with the progressing classes it was possible to break past these barriers.
Dave was unable to do anything as his body surged with strength.
The world went dark as he collapsed, his body and mind no longer able to support him as his attributes skyrocketed.
Chapter 11: Shifts to Emerilia
Sato watched the stealth remote that was set up in the Emerilia system. Everyone within the command center was silent as they looked at the various scenes on the different screens.
There were a dozen or so stealthed remote buoys that watched the Emerilia system at all times, recording and sending back everything that they saw.
“What the hell happened?” Sato said under his breath, his face pale.
Each of the screens showed a different battle or fight happening on Emerilia.
There were entire armies that were clashing all across Emerilia. People were sieging and defending castles.
A number of the creatures had been pulled up on the Deq’ual’s database.
“Looks like the portals have been activated and all of the aggressive species that were on different planets are now connected to Emerilia and fighting it out with the Emerilians.” Adams, at his side, looked at the video feed that was nearly an hour old.
The power that was being unleashed in some of these battles could be seen from orbit.
“Adams, I want remotes within all of the aggressive species systems. I want to know what Emerilia is up against and what threats we might have to deal with in the future. Or who might be allies,” Sato said.
Even if they were attacking Emerilia right now, there might be a way to use them to fight the Jukal in the future.
Sato hated himself for saying those words but he needed to. His duty was to the people of the Deq’ual system first and he needed to deal with that. Even as much as he wanted to help out the people of Emerilia and Dave, he couldn’t, so he needed to use this to learn about his possible enemies and allies.
If he could find out something to help Dave and the people of Emerilia, then he could pass it on.
“Yes, sir.” Adams worked on her screen to organize certain stealth ships that were out providing recon and scouting the other systems around the Deq’ual and certain points that interested the leadership.
/> Sato watched the battles that continued to rage on, burning those images into his mind. He stood there, straight-backed, emotions roiling as he kept up a professional facade. Hundreds—maybe thousands—of people died and he couldn’t do a thing but watch.
And so he would watch as they were overrun or pushed back the enemy, the moments of brilliance that turned a battle and all too many last moments that people went through.
He stood there like a statue, taking on those images and wishing nothing more than to reach out in help and aid.
***
Josh looked over the various maps that showed dozens of portals and the castles around them.
So far, only five of the portal locations had been secured. The rest were still being contested, with the Terra Alliance fighting to capture more of the castles or to hold what they had against the enemy.
There was a constant murmur in the room of people talking. All of these people and Shard were working to put the forces at their command to the most use.
People, like the DCA aerial forces, were being pulled from one battlefield to another to support or reinforce.
The Terra Alliance had nearly half a million people under its command, from healers in various hospital areas, to the quartermasters who moved munitions, food, water, potions, and all the materials a fighting military needed on Emerilia. Then there were the actual soldiers who could fight on the front lines against the enemy.
Of Myths and Legends (Emerilia Book 9) Page 17
