“He has something that could actually be capable of doing that?” Frenik said in excited tones, leaning forward.
“Well, he has the idea and the plans, but we simply don’t know if it will work or not.” Kol sighed.
Frenik sat back in his chair. A ship that could fly through the air—it could remove roads altogether. And missiles—it sounded as if they would be capable of destroying cities and would be extremely hard to fight against!
“Okay, what components are we looking at and how many?” Frenik pushed down on his excitement.
“Have a look.” Kol sent over complete blueprints on the projects. The ship was a list of parts. Dave had created a mock-up but they simply didn’t know how big everything was going to be, so relying on the exterior mock-up wasn’t the best. The Band-Aid was a complex series of thin coded plates. Making them so small would be hard, but possible.
Frenik slowly looked through them, muttering to himself and making notes on his interface. “I’m going to need some help on some of this stuff, but I think we can get it done. Once I know how things would work out, I can give you a time estimate. I can do this by myself in a few days or I can get Shard to do it in a few minutes.”
“You can use Shard. No one’s getting into his Magical Circuitry—Dave and Bob checked,” Kol said.
“Good to know that he’s secure. Who’s this Bob?”
“Grey God,” Kol said.
Frenik’s eyes widened. He thought that he couldn’t be shocked anymore.
“Trust me, I know—the more I learn, the more I find out I don’t know anything. It’s a bit overwhelming at first.” Kol shrugged.
“Well, thank you for trusting me.” Frenik sent off the information to Shard.
Shard asked to join the private chat; Kol allowed him.
“We can complete these projects within eight months. We might need more time with any later components you make due to other people taking up factory lines,” Shard said.
“Perfect. Then I’ll leave that to you,” Kol said.
“Thank you.” Frenik stood. Kol did so as well, and they shook hands. Both of them felt that their actions would have far-reaching effects, but right now, there were too many questions and not enough answers. So, what that effect might be, neither of them could fully imagine.
***
Ela-Dorn slid in the last coded plate. She pushed the rack into the large arch of the machine she’d been working on for the last couple of weeks.
It was supported on a stage. Above the stage, two arches came together to create a domed open space. Looking directly at the arches, there was a circle under the arches and another that extended out between two of these curved pillars.
Underneath the circles, there were magically coded sheets that looked much like a server might. The ones under the small circle were simple, while the ones under the arches were complicated. There were also coded blocks that moved around the outside of these coded plates.
“One summoning hall complete,” Ela-Dorn said to herself, letting out a satisfied sigh as she moved to the command console that was back behind the small circle.
Ela-Dorn waited a second, looking to her helpers. They were professors and various students from the Aleph college, as well as Aleph engineers and machinists.
She pressed a button on the console. The soul gem within the open console glowed; power surged through Mana channels to the small circle.
If someone was to look under the stage, they would see the coded plates start to light up. As light seemed to pass down the stacks of coded plates, runes engraved into the circle started to light up from the outside rings into the center. As the runes finished lighting up, the coded stacks below lit with Mana; a Mana stream spread from the small circle, touching the circle that the arches lay upon.
The stacks underneath started to glow with energy. Four soul gems that lay under the arches lit up, and runes on the pillars started to light up, reaching toward where they intersected as the runes on the circle below lit up and made their way to the center.
The runes on the circle and those where the pillars met lit up at the same time. A Mana barrier appeared between the arches. The room seemed thick with Mana.
“Okay, well, it starts up pretty easily,” Ela-Dorn said with a shaky voice, nervous about the next part. “Everyone check your personal Mana barriers!”
She checked her interface against the buttons and pressed a few of them on the console. A whirring noise came from underneath the arched circle. The coded pieces underneath moved into a new position, new areas of coded plates activating.
When the portal had activated, it had made a field that would mask its signature, making it appear as if it were a summoning ritual, not a machine made to summon creatures from other realms. It also activated a Mana barrier that would protect those summoning the creature and enhance the powers of the person standing within the circle in front of the summoning arches.
The last coded plate slid into place off its circular system.
Power thrummed through the area as all of the runes grew a little bit brighter for a moment. There was a flash of light as within the arches a small pup appeared.
It unfurled itself, as if waking up from a long sleep. It stood up and looked around the arches and the people beyond before locking eyes with Ela-Dorn. It let out a confused bark as Ela-Dorn felt her heart melt at the cute little creature.
It had some wolf heritage but it was already a third the size of a grown bear in puppy form. Its fur was an odd mixture of white grey and black, making it appear smoky. Its head was completely black, as were its eyes. But instead of being scary, they were cute as the little pup scratched at the Mana barrier.
Ela-Dorn moved toward the little pup that was eagerly scratching at the Mana barrier, his little tail wagging ferociously. Ela-Dorn stepped into the small pad. She quickly opened up her hand, creating a bloody seal on her palm before she held it out toward the little puppy.
There was hardly any resistance as she felt her Willpower stretch out toward the little puppy.
He pawed at his nose, as if there was something annoying him slightly.
Prompts appeared in front of Ela-Dorn.
You Have Gained A Soul Bound Creature
The Shadow Wolf is yours to command. Unless you break your contract with the creature or allow it to die, the contract will not be broken. Controlling this creature takes 5 Willpower from your overall stats (does not affect Mana recharge).
Soul Binding Contract
You have created a soul binding contract with a Shadow Wolf. For a portion of your Experience, you can increase this creature’s level and abilities.
The Shadow Wolf is currently Level 0, gains 0% of your experience.
Name Your Soul Bound Creature
Your Shadow Wolf does not have a name. Do you wish to give him one? Y/N
With such a weak creature that would not be as powerful as Lu Lu or Steve, the requirement to dominate the creature was cut in half.
“Kelo,” Ela-Dorn said.
Kelo looked up at Ela-Dorn, his tail wagging as his tongue stuck out the side of his mouth.
Ela-Dorn could only laugh at the excited puppy.
He let out a shrill yelp.
Ela-Dorn moved to the console and pressed a button.
The barrier closed and the runes lost their glow as the power from the summoning hall was cut off. The blocks that had been placed before were now pulled back into their start-up positions, ready for the next summoning.
Kelo raced forward with happy yips and yaps. He jumped on Ela-Dorn’s leg. His tail wagged so fiercely that it shook his rear legs as he tried to lick Ela-Dorn.
She laughed and picked the little guy up, being rewarded with kisses as he tried to squirm out of her hands and get closer to her face.
“Well, I think that we can call this one a success,” Ela-Dorn said, besieged by dog kisses.
The tension in the room had evaporated, turning into cheers and laughter. They’d spent long h
ours working to take Dave’s plans and turn it into an entirely enclosed and efficient machine.
Now, all of their work had paid off, as was made clear with the yapping and excited Kelo.
Chapter 24: Halfway Point
“Welcome to Ashal River, ladies and gents,” Josh said over the guild-wide chat. The trees gave way to reveal a calm-looking river that cut through the middle of Ashal’s wilderness.
Vrexu had his forces pushed outward, looking for threats on the ground. Efri had his forces looking for ones in the air. Scouts were looking into the waters, seeing just what lay down there.
A scout flying above the waters let out a scream.
A creature that must have been a hundred meters long and twenty wide, jumped out of the water.
An Air blade slammed into the beast. A thin line of blood was seen. The creature wasn’t heavily wounded, but it was enough to throw off its direction. It dove back into the water; the blood mingled with the water, as the calm waters turned into a turbulent froth as other predators sensing or tasting the blood now in the river went into a frenzy.
A battle was happening under the surface of the river, churning it up. After about twenty minutes, the fighting seemed to taper off.
A half-dozen creatures had come out to fight. The creature that had tried to eat the scout wasn’t able to defend against the others and was torn apart.
Others even fought one another, seeing that they were distracted.
“Well, I sure as hell don’t want to be taking a boat across that,” Dave said.
The Stone Raiders had moved ahead of everyone else. They were the fastest group on foot. The DCA had just barely been able to keep up with their innate physical abilities and stats.
When looking at the map, it was clear that they were going to have to cross over the Ashal River somehow, or else take a detour of nearly two weeks around it.
“Looks like we won’t be sleeping much tonight,” Malsour added, giving Dave a weak smile. His losses were still too recent for him to move past just yet.
Dave slapped Malsour’s shoulder. “All right! Dark mages on me! We’ve got a bridge to build!” Dave said over the guild chat.
“The rest of you make camp and be on the lookout for creatures,” Josh said.
Over the last couple of days, they had been losing people here and there. A number of Players had even fallen victim to Ashal wilderness.
They were cocky. Even if they died, they would come back. It made Josh want to be around the POE more because they were always vigilant.
He didn’t want to lose too many people before they even got to the temple. They hadn’t gotten into any massive battles, but they had walked into different creatures’ territories, where half of the raiding party had been stuck in the fighting.
Dave and Malsour moved closer to the water’s edge, pushing out their senses, figuring out what materials they had to work with.
“What are you thinking?” Malsour asked.
“Simple arching bridge over. Magical code the thing so that it will resist impacts from the creatures below,” Dave said.
“Maybe an electrical enchantment, something that will hurt them when they hit it. Train them to not hit the pillars,” Malsour said.
After another fifteen or twenty minutes of talking, they figured out a plan and passed it on to the other mages who were standing around, ready to help.
First Malsour and the Dark mages infused their Mana into the bedrock below the river. It was the most secure foundation one could find. They rose great stone pillars, all the way up from the bedrock to the edge of the water.
Then, they worked with the Earth mages and those creating the road, who cleared out the area closest to the pillars. The Dark mages created rock and metal that grew from the pillars back toward the shore, seamlessly connecting with the section of road that the engineers had made. The bridge would be fifty meters tall so that the creatures in the lake below couldn’t jump up and kill the people walking over it. It would extend nearly seven hundred meters to allow for a gradual rise and also keep people away from the banks of the river.
Pillars rose out of the water like deep sea beasts, stopping once they had reached their highest peak. Rock grew out from them, connecting in the middle, creating a brace as well as the road that flowed down to connect to the other pillars that had been grown directly out of the bedrock below.
A few creatures, seeing the rising pillars, slammed into them, thinking them as other beasts trying to impose on their territory.
Ranged attackers and mages fired at these creatures. A good wound was enough to make the other creatures turn and attack them.
As the bridge extended, the Dark mages started to move onto it. With less distance between them and what they were working on, it was easier for them to manipulate the Dark Affinity materials.
The simple flat road grew walls. Metal extruded out of the stone to create a superstructure of a roof. Stones grew across this as if they were vines climbing up a wall.
Glass was formed, creating skylights. There were even a few protrusions off the side of the bridge, in case anyone wanted to look down at the river or try to hunt the beasts below. Everything in Ashal was of great value. Who knew if there might be rare creatures lurking in the river to be fished out?
The Dark mages continued forward. The river was nearly eight hundred meters wide and they had started to raise up the bridge two hundred meters from the edge of the water so that the incline wasn’t too steep for wagons and people, and it was high enough to deter the massive creatures hiding under the waters.
Dark mages behind the first ones worked on the finer details. Mages added in Mana lights and created places for soul gems to be placed in order to power the bridge. Gates were also added. They didn’t want some kind of creature making the bridge their home while it wasn’t in use.
Dave and other coders helped to carve in the magical coding. Dark mages who were also well versed in magical coding added protections to the pillars, following the basic code that Dave and Malsour had come up with.
The base of the pillars illuminated with lightning. The surrounding water smoked now and then as creatures found the defensive measures that had been put in place to deter the water creatures from attacking the bridge.
There were a few skirmishes with different creatures, but none of them were major.
The covered bridge reached its apex as night started to fall and the moons came out. The Dark mages switched off, not wanting to become fatigued in the Ashal wilderness.
Still, pillars continued to grow, passing over the river.
There was no need to stop building because most people had an incredibly high Endurance and could go a few days without sleeping. They also had great night vision. Through the night, the bridge continued onward. Pillars rose out and then grew into part of the bridge. Steel moved from old sections toward the new like snakes, fusing with one another before the stone was extruded out upon this superstructure.
As night fell, the rest of the raiding party appeared.
Everyone moved onto the bridge, closing the gates behind them as they were able to get some proper rest.
The DCA continued to patrol and some of the guild members went off to look for resources or kill some powerful beasts for experience.
It wasn’t until the next morning that the bridge started to once again lower down toward the other bank.
River creatures had attacked the pillars all night. These pillars, rooted in bedrock, with a metal superstructure and magical coding, didn’t even budge with the impacts from creatures up to Level 1,500.
Dave felt a cool sweat just thinking about the behemoth that had risen up to smack into the pillar. It was three times the size of the first beast that had tried to kill the scout and moved through the water like an arrow through the air. It made the bridge shudder a bit. The electrical discharge from the bridge had been enough to wake everyone up.
The stunned beast quickly recovered its senses and sped away from the
bridge.
In the space of a night, they had built a bridge that would have taken people back on Earth nearly a year to finish. It was also incredibly strong and had heavy defenses. It was more of a castle over the top of the water than a bridge.
Dave handed Malsour a cup of warm Xer. They both took a deep drink from their mugs and looked over the bridge.
“Well, now onto the temple,” Dave said.
They’d scheduled for the crossing over the river to take a day. Now they were ahead of schedule. Dave was excited to see what other wonders Ashal had and see this portal location for himself.
“Two more days and we should be at the portal,” Dave said.
Malsour made a noise of agreement.
A creature looking like a massive boar but with a horn on its head suddenly appeared at the edge of the bank. It let out a battle cry.
This attack was supposed to slow a person’s ability to react and their movement speed.
Dave felt his speed decrease even as he conjured a spear of water, sending it through the air, guessing the creature had an Air Affinity.
“Blood hog! Earth Affinity!” Lucy called out.
DCA aerial forces stayed away from the creature as earth and wood started to rise from the ground around it, forming into Earth spears.
The aerial forces fired out their Mana bolts as Dave’s attack landed. It hit the hog, making it shake its head slightly. It let out a snort as it fired its own spears at the bridge.
As Malsour raised his hand, a wall of stone appeared, covering all of those on the mouth of the growing bridge.
The stone cracked in places as the spears hit.
Dave could still see what was going on with his senses.
The DCA were hitting the hog at range with their Mana bolts. The hog was tough and shrugged off most of the damage, but with so many attackers, the smaller wounds were piling up.
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