Days melted away, fading into the next. Jin-woo and Graq had been busy working on their preparations for an extended dungeon dive. Their original plan had been to create a few massive packs for Jin-woo to carry during their trek. He was strong enough to heft massive weights without much difficulty. It was only an issue of how much he could balance.
The massive bags fixed that issue.
But now, they were not applicable to what they needed. Their size would only get in the way during fights within the tunnels. Instead, Graq had been able to split a few into two bags perfect for their individual size. Covered in small pockets. Jin-woo’s was still massive, but not overly so.
Jin-woo looked up from where he sat with his legs crossed, Rare Earth Crystal and power stones on his lap. Graq was busy practicing with his new shiny weapons. Primarily the surgical ‘daggers’. There was purpose in the ratkin’s movements. As if he had experience with a weapon of similar nature, but not quite the same one.
He feared Graq would not fare well considering the massive size of the giant rats he fought. To him, they only reached the middle of his thigh. Big but not gigantic. Problem was that they were Graq’s height but outweighed by three folds if he had to guess. Any direct confrontation would be catastrophic for their group.
Especially if they were separated.
Graq didn’t have the enhanced endurance and lack of required sustenance. Jin-woo had gone what could have been more than a month on the first floor without so much as a bite. He doubted the ratkin would survive a week.
I wonder what he ate?
Jin-woo’s thoughts drifted back to when he first found Graq in the cage. But the question didn’t feel appropriate in the current atmosphere. Mostly because Jin-woo had killed the Rat Lord.
Focus!
He reprimanded himself. But he couldn’t help his thoughts drifting again to the giant axe. He was still too weak to wield it comfortably. That would remain the case for some time still. His leveling was extremely slow, and even when he did make it to the next one, vitality would be his primary stat to boost.
That and spirit.
Salvaged metal rods remained as his most practical weapon. Easy to find, durable, and simple to sharpen with the help of the surgical blades he still had left. His first laid next to the giant axe. A twisted piece of metal reminding him of the difficulties he faced during the first floor. Bent and warped in countless ways.
The Earth Power Stone hummed again. Jin-woo sighed, he couldn’t procrastinate anymore. He could feel how dry his mouth was. Every itch across his body. The way the cold floor underneath him seemed to invade his legs. The breeze across his face. His nose twitched, mucus making itself known.
He remembered the last time he did anything with the system. The catastrophe that immediately followed it. It was still fresh.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Jin-woo resolved himself. He studied the codes for days, making a thousand notes for each one. Hours of grueling preparation done for this very moment. There was nothing left but to activate his SystemArchitect ability and start the process of readjusting and making the power stones better.
“Graq.”
The ratkin paused his practice. “Yes, Jin-woo?”
He smacked his dry lips. “I’m going to be busy for a while.”
“Busy? With what?” Graq approached him. “There’s nothing left but to use the power stones and enter the dungeon.” Graq was still happy they decided against leaving the dungeon. Though he doubted the ratkin knew what he was getting into.
How do I explain this?
He decided on being truthful. “I’m going to improve the power stones. Fix anything that needs fixing.”
“Fix the power stone…? What does that even mean?”
Jin-woo blinked. How was he supposed to tell him he could alter the very nature of the system that governed their powers. It may not be full access to any changes he wanted, but it was significant enough to give them an advantage. A massive one at that.
Graq matched his blinking. “Forget it. I don’t want to know.”
Jin-woo watched the ratkin walking back to its practice area. Shaking his head the entire way. He grabbed the Earth Power Stone and activated his SystemArchitect ability. A familiar screen filled with code appeared. It was still on the last page he and Demina finished during their mad race to survive.
The power stone pulsed and the screen changed. Lines of less complex code appeared on it. While not as crazy as the ones he’d seen before, it was still mostly beyond his understanding and abilities. Several warning notifications popped up in front of it.
[- Code Constructs Capable of Granting Various Abilities
- Integration Requires Specific Resources and Compatibility
- Higher Rank Stones Demand Greater Mana Control
- Incompatibility Risks: System Damage, Possible Fatal Errors
- Proper Integration Protocols Essential]
[INTEGRATION WARNING:]
[- Insufficient compatibility may cause cascading system failures
- Power stone rank must match user capabilities
- Resource requirements scale exponentially with rank
- Failed integration can result in permanent data corruption
- Higher rank stones may overload spiritual parameters]
[MODIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:]
[MANA COST: 300]
[MODIFICATION COST: Rare Earth Crystal (Basic) x2]
[STABILIZATION COST: Rare Earth Crystal (Basic) x1]
[INTEGRATION TIME: 2 hours]
[WARNING: Modification without stabilization resources may result in catastrophic failure]
They were similar to the ones he had seen in the safe room. Reminding him of the seriousness of what he was about to do.
He pushed them away and began the process. Immediately three of the Rare Earth Crystals turned into motes of light. The screen shook slightly, turning into static, before returning to its former glory. More notifications appeared in his feed that he ignored choosing to focus on more important ones.
[ACCESSING POWER STONE CORE MATRIX]
[ANALYZING CODE STRUCTURE...]
“Demina…?” he whispered. “Please help.”
Silence answered him. But he knew she would be there for him.
He began his work. Methodically going through every single code he could get his fingers on. Carefully adjusting and considering anything he implemented. Almost immediately, Demina’s influence was obvious. His code and processes were cleaned up from rough blocky things into elegant solutions that matched the complexity of the code around it.
```
stone.earth.core {
mana_flux = ∫(φ × E) ? dM where E =
ψ(m,t)?/?e
resonance_state = base[natural_flow
detected]
stability_matrix = lim[e→cap] ∑(1/e!) * ∮(μ?/4π)
efficiency = 0.67[minor_optimization
attempted]
```
The work absorbed him completely. Graq had come and gone. He wasn’t sure what time it was or what happened around him. His was too busy and too focused on the code in front of him.
Zer0n1gh7s Patreon
9/15] Chapters of [AoD]
10/15] Chapters of [SterK]
Thank You Patreons!
Discord!
