-----
"So you've never heard of a monster being called a System Merary on the kill firmed panel?"
Quickly nodding, Eve walked across the blood-filled water without making more than a tiny ripple on its surface. "System meraries don't grant kill firmed panels."
-What?- "That's nht. Are you misuanding something?" My expression morphed with fusion as she tilted her head at me. "System users absolutely grant kill firmed panels." If anyone knew, it would be me.
"They used to, but because of some lunatics killing them frades and items, the system did away with it."
-Huh?- Thinking back to when I found the system enforcers in Rid, the image of me spearing a man with his own on surfaced in my mind. -Wait...- There was no ce he survived. -Yet I never got a kill-firmed panel.. same with the system enforcers...-
"Kill-firmed panels on people haven't been a thing for quite a long time." Looking over at the eel as its squirming started to slow, she shrugged. "sidering all the stuff that's happeo your system, it wouldn't surprise me if it's just a dispy bug."
-I mean.. that's certainly a possibility...- sidering an administrator of the tral Server said he couldn't even access my profile, it wouldn't be surprising if there were some bugs exclusive to me that simply couldn't be fixed. "I don't know... But I guess it doesn't do me any good to think about it now."
Quickly nodding, Eve's demeanhtened. "Exactly! Why dwell on the unknow doesn't be you?"
"Haah," -Right...- In the past, I wouldn't have given it even the slightest moment of thought. -But I 't deny I'm curious...-
"For now, didn't you say you wao find a fresh mana core?" Turning toward the eel as it finally stopped squirming, she used some water magic to push the body toward the surface. "Betsy here should have a suitable one."
"Ah, right." Although I hadn't spoken to her about the specifics yet, while we traveled, she had asked a bit about Bel, w if she was some special robot to garner my attention, and after some time, we spoke about the fact that I was looking for a smaller mana core for her that was at least the size of a fist or so. "This should be perfect, actually."
Giving me a curious look as I ran toward the eel across the ke's surface, she spoke while promptly following after me. "If it's not rude to ask, what does a robot need such a core for, anyway?"
Using my aura to try and find the core, I pulled out a long, sword-like fillet bde and started carving into the monster's side. "How familiar are you with mana meics?"
"Huh?" fusion instantly clouded her curiosity.
"I'll take that as not much." Think of how to expin, I used my aura to hold the eel at the water's surface. "To keep it short, you think of mana-meics as the bination of mana and robotics. It gives them a bunch of pretty cool permissions but the success rate is low." *Tink* -There it is...- Feeling my bde tap against the core, I tossed it in my iory before using my hands to carve away the rest of the eel's flesh and pop the core out of it.
*Tap-Vwoom* The core was about the size of a small melon; a little on the big side. -But that might be better for this...-
Hopping up out of the pit I dug into the eels side, I tinued my expnation. "You think of it like turning a robot into an autonomous mohat the system reizes as a robot, so there's far less limits on them."
But she wasn't following at all. "H-Huh? That's possible?!" Hurriedly ing over to me, she rather eagerly looked at the mana core. "I know robotics be reized in the system as panions, but they're never used beyond a certain level because they're weak... Are you tellihat's not actually the case?"
I was quick to nod. "I had a whole fleet of them before my system was wiped. Even up in Error rank worlds, they could clear the entire p without my help."
A twitch quickly found its way into Eve's dumbfounded look.
"But I'm not sure how the infusion itself will go... I've never do..." Even with all my time in the system, I had only ever found mana-infused robotics. -This'll be the first time I actually try to evolve one...-
Prior to finding my systems mana-meics tab, I didn't actually think it ossible to do artificially, and summed it up to being a phenomenon where a dungeon core possessed a robot of some sort. -I wonder how it'll do it.. even with the system's help...-
Quickly opening and swiping through my system, I called out Bel with some haste. *Vwoop* "Oh, that was fast-" *Spt* "Oh..." Falling down onto the wet, bloody side of the eel, she lifted her bloody paw and gave it an awkward look.
"Haha, sorry to dirty your paws, but could you y down for me?"
"Hm? Oh, o-of course!" Without the slightest hesitation, she threw herself onto her side. "Do you wao enter-"
"Nope. Just stay like that and don't move." As she gently id her head down, I made my to her side, opened her maintenance panel, and opehe mana meics tab in my system, finally being presented with a familiar warning. -Now, it says I just the core into tact with her puting module...-
Using my hand to gently move aside some of the meical arms and circuit boards hidden in Bel's body, I exposed the dense tral puting module aly pulled it toward the opening in her side, just enough to let the mana core touch it. -Nice.. and.. gentle...- *Tink*
*Beep* A panel instantly popped up in front of my face reading, 'Robotitact with suitable mana core detected. Do you wish to proceed?'
-Of course...- *Beep* Tapping 'Yes', I looked down at Bel with a smile. "This might be a bit fusing for you, but just try to go with the flow, okay?"
"Hm?" Looking up at me, she seemed fused. "I'm not sure what you mean, m- *Crackle*" Her voistantly desded into static as her body seized up and the lenses in her eyes lost their focus.
-She should be alright...- Watg the mana core leaning against her puting module slowly lose its rigidity and turn into an almost slime-like blob, it ever-so-slowly began sinking into her body, abs the tral puting module with several other electrical boards before beginning to solidify once more.
*Beep* "It is now required that the hosts is their mana."
-Alright...- Hearing the system speak to me directly, I quickly held out my hand and started guiding my mana toward the mana core.
But while to me, the amount of mana couldn't even be called droplets, to Bel, it was like a tsunami. *VWOOOM*
*Beep* "F temporary tether to host. You may feel a slight disfort."
-Hm? A tether? What is...- "-Oh..." Feeling an immediate disfort in my abdomen as a nerve-wrag ay washed over me, my gaze sharpened.
But before a sihought could flow, an almost maniputive feeling filled the bay mind, and a set of unfamiliar, blurry memories seemed to start pying like a vision.
But it didn't st long. -Stop that...- Following my instincts, I instantly rejected the fn mix of emotions and memories that tried to force themselves into my mind, and after just a moment, they began fading and dissipating...
Until eventually, they vanished entirely.
-What the hell was that?- Finally esg my own mind, I quickly leaned back from Bel with hostility written all ay face. -Were those.. memories from the eel?- Releasing a bit of bloodlust, I found myself wanting to punch the core as it solidified, but thankfully, my nerves slowly started easing before my instincts snapped.
"Hooh..." Letting out a heavy breath, I closed my eyes and tried to meditate for a moment to make sure it was all gone, before finally opening my eyes and finding a bright panel in front of my face.
-| Success |-
Mana-Meics implementation was a success!All expected margins have been surpassed, however, features may be limited.
-Hm?- Tilting my head as I read it, I quickly hit 'Expand', only to be presented with a n of errors and a message saying: 'Because of the following errors, some system features may not work correctly. If issues persist, please ta administrator.'
-Please tell me those errors didn't ping the administrators already...- My expression quickly darkened as I gnced around a bit.
But thankfully, there was nothing to find.
"Haah..." Finally standing up, I quickly read through and closed the rest of the system panels before swiping them away and movio my iain. -Looks like it will take some time for her to wake up... I guess I'll go back to practi the meantime.-
However, as I dipped my hands in the ke to off the blood, I noticed that Eve was pletely absorbed in something.
-Hm?- She was looking at something in her system. "Is something the matter?" Finally stepping off the eel and walking across the water, I found her rather anxiously biting her nail. -Uh oh...-
But while I was a bit uneasy seeing the stress and worry on her face, it wasly what I expected. "Yeah..." Swiping her hand across her system panel, it instantly turo face me.
Server Warning
It has beeermihat this world's rank is too low.
Rank corre will begin immily.
Old Rank: 6New Rank: 5
-Ah, so it's finally happening.-
"Earth's rank just went up, so..." Waving away the panel, she looked up at the bright blue sky overhead with an awkward smile. "It looks like Earth's days of peace are over."
-Good.-
Although I didn't say it out loud, Eve could clearly tell what I was thinking. "Do you think peace is a bad thing?" Gng over at me, she asked her question like it was genuine.
But even though I wasn't sure if she was joking, I spoke my mind. "Yes."
Looking back up at the sky, her tone softened. "Why..?"
Looking up at the fluffy clouds as well, my tone firmed. "Peace doesn't make you strong."
"Hah..." She immediately let out a bit of a chuckle.
But I tinued without hesitation. "It's why worlds with teology , Eve. The moment a civilizatios rid of the threat, and peace spreads, people get used to it, take it franted, and iably tear themselves apart... Civilizations are a lot like people in that sense..." As a memory of my time with Bree, Eve's Mother, pyed in the bay mind, I smiled. "It took me a long time to realize it, but it's why your Mother is such a good monarch. She treated her nation like she would herself..."
Eve's expression slowly lost its vibrance as she fell into thought. "Is that.. so..."
Giving her a moment to think, I looked back up into the sky as well.
It was a hard cept for someoo their heads around, but as Bree's daughter, I was sure she would e to uand.. even if it took some time... -Unlike me.. she won't o see tens of thousands of worlds colpse before her eyes to uand...-
Thinking ba old memories as the bright blue sky filled my eyes, I almost felt my posture ease a bit. "Just don't overthink it. Earth won't fall with me here, but don't expect me to be some benevolent protector." -Even without me, Earth would find a way to survive...- Even if the path they would o take would bring upon loss like they had never seen.
After all, sentience wasn't something that could be gotten rid of so easily...
"Haah..." Letting out a sigh to try and shake off the dark memories that suddenly surfaced, my expression darkened and my gaze fell to the ground. "You won't uand right away, but.. I promise you will with time..."
Hearing my somber tone, she was quick to turn to me with a worried look.
But I wasn't pnning oing my mind recall any other dark memories. "Just trust the process, okay? I don't pn oing this world fall apart like the rest... Even if it's what the gods eventually desire..."
-----
Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, a early access to artwork on My Patreon!
(In case Embedded Link doesn't work: https:///TDOD )
-------------
Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates reted to TSH releases! https://disc/Dv7G5bQD4v
All are wele!