Chapter 234: Diggers (Patreon)

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Ok, no Dwarven cities this chapter. Also, there is a minor cliff. I'll try to get the next chappy done by friday.

AN: Got some editing suggestions? Suggest it on the Google Docs here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D7J7BP1caLl-0OMQ-f9nAHmSa_n6-hrr_nH82WRYWMc/edit?usp=sharing

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Today’s the day of my spying mission.

Back at Lunaley, I’m sitting on a comfortable sofa on top of a hill several kilometers away from the nearest village. Yrania is curled up on my lap like a cat waiting for the mission to start. I am holding my Dryad’s Grace staff with Alysara’s Library under my arm. Next to me is a house-size scapegoat I made from most of the mana available within my [Manipulate Magic] reach.

I start going through a mental checklist just to make sure I have everything to stay safe.

Lifedrop Necklace? Check.

Dryad’s Grace? Check.

My Library? Check.

Scapegoats? Big check.

Yriana? Sleepy check.

Protected by two proxies, an expandable scapegoat, and my scapegoat book that absorbs and discharges retaliations, I should be safe enough from any non-mental attacks.

“It’s time,” Jordan tells me.

“I have everyone prepared on my end, too,” I say, speaking the Human language.

“You’ve gotten better over the last three days.” Jordan compliments me.

We walk down to the courtyard where Lin, Ryan, and a dozen other Oathbound Knights and Squires stand. With the exception of Jordan and Ryan, they are all Mind Mages. Jordan will be standing guard while Ryan will be offering his expertise. I may be more powerful than him, but he is more experienced in what we are about to do. I suspect he wants to join simply to learn some of my breakthroughs, but he also has a mind Class specifically to help with this type of job so he has a good excuse.

Next to the group are dozens of scapegoats, a large ornate mirror proxy with arm-sized crystals attached to the side, and a crystal orb the size of my head.

Roscher’s Scrying Mirror
(Exalted)
This mirror, made by the master scryer Roscher, allows anyone to see a top-down view of whatever’s being scryed. It is a proxy that absorbs any attack into the crystals on its sides.

A very useful tool, it will allow Jordan to see what we see. I suppose that in the case all scryers are incapacitated, there can still be someone who can give a report.

It also seems to have scapegoats attached to it, so any attacks that get redirected to it won’t destroy the mirror.

Oathbound’s Guardian Orb
(Legendary)
An orb, made by a master crafter Oathbound, that absorbs and stores all enemy spells within a kilometer. It safely neutralizes and discharges the spell mana to the surroundings. If this Orb absorbs too many spells in a short amount of time, it will deactivate until it has discharged enough mana to absorb more.

That must be their frontline defense. It’s basically a reusable scapegoat, except it can also work for other situations, like on a battlefield or siege.

I should try and make similar items later. After all, why have a defensive item for one specific thing when it can be better by making it a general-purpose item? I wonder if that will impact its usefulness in some way. Will an item dedicated to being a scapegoat be more effective?

I think I can recreate the orb, especially with my inscriptions and a little application of [Manipulate Magic]. The key part would be the neutralizing and discharging of spell mana.

I quickly whip up three designs back at Lunaley for more safety.

Saintess’ Guardian Orb
(Enchanted)
An orb, made by the Saintess of Mana and Magic, that absorbs and stores all enemy spells within ten meters. It safely neutralizes and discharges the spell mana to the surroundings. If this Orb absorbs too many spells in a short amount of time, it will deactivate until it has discharged enough mana to absorb more.

I’m sure I can make it better if given the time, but for now, it will have to do.

I wonder how the Oathbound will react if they knew I could mass-produce mini versions of their Legendary item?

So what’s the difference between my Library and these Orbs? Well, these Orbs say it neutralizes the spells and discharges the mana. The Library says it absorbs the retaliations and safely discharges it. So the Library doesn’t neutralize the spell, simply redirects them away from me; that is mostly why I am in the middle of nowhere.

On the plus side, the Library doesn’t say it stores the spells, so it should be able to handle everything that somehow manages to cross the vast distance and doesn’t terminate where my perceptive eyes are.

I have so many layers of protection; pretty much the only things that can hurt me are Mind Mages and the Eldritch’s bullshit ‘I see you’ ability. I wonder if blinding their perceptive eyes will work against them, and others with the ability to see what is seeing them.

There are two theories that can explain that ability. The first is that they are ‘seeing’ my perceptive vectors, essentially making whatever is seeing them shine like a sun to them, giving them sight on whoever is seeing them. The second is a magical sense of being looked at and tracing perceptive vectors back. There could be another explanation, but it’s either working with perceptive vectors, or it’s magic. One will allow me to blind it; the other will not.

I will just have to wait until we encounter someone with the ability to see what sees them to confirm my theory. I may get a chance soon with this mission, but I don’t know if that’s a good thing.

“Alright,” Jordan says, getting everyone’s attention. “We’re all rested and prepared, so let’s not waste any more time. Whatever the dwarves have planned may already be in motion.”

“Alright. Alysara, you need to initiate the mental links.”

I nod. First I establish a link with Yrania’s dozens of minds, and suddenly I can see through her eyes, hear through her ears, smell through her nose. The world is tinted in three strange colors, but I notice a distinct lack of yellow, as if she were yellow colorblind. That isn’t factoring in the colors of mana, which I am very familiar with, but looking at it from Yrania’s perspective is new. My sensing Skill is true three-dimensional vision, but eyes, even dragon eyes, are limited to two dimensions, with the brain interpreting a third dimension. Seeing mana in two dimensions is certainly a new experience that is hard for me to describe.

I feel a sense of amusement from Yrania’s mind.

“Dragon eyes are not the same as yours. We mostly share the same colors, but us dragons can see more. Most species see the world differently, of which Elves and other plant-like beings, as well as sea creatures, have the most strange sight.”

I suppose that’s to be expected. Actually, it’s more surprising that Runalymo see the same color as Humans; at least, That’s what I remember. It’s kinda fuzzy since I only had sight for a few days, but I don’t remember seeing different colors. Cats and dogs had different sight; hell, mantis shrimp had sixteen cones in their eyes, and they could see way more colors, like ultraviolet and radio waves; I suppose that’s why she specifically called out sea creatures.

“Cones?” Yrania asks.

Oh, right, she can hear my thoughts.

“Cones are the color seeing bits in your eyes; there are also rods that help with seeing in the dark. Humans have three cones but can see more than three colors since they can combine in different ways.”

“Hmm. Anyway, as interesting as that is, we don’t have all day; however, before you link with anyone else, you may want to think about what you are seeing. I don’t think you told me about that egg-shaped thing over that city.”

“I don’t suppose you can [Analyze] it through me?”I ask.

“No, even if you were to [Analyze] it, I wouldn’t receive the information unless you actively think about it. The system isn’t showing you anything; it’s implanting the information directly into your mind.”

They will want to see the Egg for themselves anyway, and they already know I can see a lot, so I go ahead and form a link with Lin and one by one link with the others and their many minds. Once everyone is linked, we have over two hundred minds, at least forty percent being contributed by Yrania.

One by one, new perspectives enter my mind. Yrania already closed her eyes to keep her dragon sight a secret from the Humans, but it’s a little overwhelming with so many viewpoints.

“Woah! There really is a Mind Dragon!” A squire exclaims.

“I can see the entire city at the same time!” another says with amazement.

“Close your eyes, everyone; the fewer distractions, the better,” Lin says.

“So this is what Miasma looks like,” Ryan muses.

According to what his sensing Skill is seeing, he must have [Sense Matter]. He too can see the majority of the city, I have reduced the size of my field of view enough to not be shocking.

“Seeing this Miasma Egg myself doesn’t do much to quell my worry. You didn’t mention its roots are so extensive, to the point it infests every house, road, and even sewer,” Lin says.

I made sure to think about classified information with a mind not linked to everyone else.

I reroute my perceptive vectors through the Mirror and scapegoats so Jordan can see.

“Like I said, that just drains Miasma from the area, just like how the roots of a plant drain nutrients from the ground. The real problem is the Egg itself,” I explain.

“It’s even infected the Palace,” a squire waves her arm through one of the Miasma roots as she says that.

“The Egg can wait,” Jordan says, “for now, we have a mission to do. Alysara, please start when you are adjusted to the mind links.”

“Alright.”

I start scouting, squeezing my perception thin and wide, maintaining a four-meter vision above the ground and going far underground with a width of only fifty meters. It doesn’t take long to find the first anomaly, a ruin three hundred meters underground.

“Must have been buried by an earth elemental tens of thousands of years ago,” Lin says.

“Can you spread your vision to encompass the ruin?” Jordan asks, “I’d like to record its location so we know where to avoid.”

“There’s no Miasma in the ruin, It’s been drained by the Egg, so it’s safe to explore,” I say, taking note of how the roots have reached even a long and forgotten ruin. “It’s possible all ruins in your Empire have been drained of their Miasma.”

“Is that how it works?” A squire asks.

“Yes, no city ends peacefully, and the Miasma lingers and grows stagnant. Once disturbed, the Miasma will start condensing and forming a Cursed Being,” I answer.

“If that’s truly the case, then it will be a much-needed boon after the recent disasters,” Jordan says. “All the more reason to record the ruin’s location.”

Once Jordan has finished placing the ruin on a map, I continue my search. There are many interesting things deep underground. From a petrified Exalted tree, to monsters, lost treasure, fossils, and more. One thing I noticed, however, is that most points of interest are below a certain depth.

“That’s because we use our own scryers for prospecting the lands, but you can see much farther than them; plus, it’s often not worth digging so far down. Over time everything gets found,” Lin explains.

I don’t stop for every little thing, and if I did, it’d take all day. The only things Jordan stopped me for were ruins, the petrified Exalted tree, and the bones of some legendary monster. I was promised payment for my help in locating those.

It took several hours to scan the Empire's territory leading toward the Dwarven lands, but now we are sure there’s no immediate threat of invasion, that is, until I passed through a large and unnatural hemispherical cavern full of troops and machines, about eighty kilometers away from the border.

I feel the feedback of concern and anxiety come from the Oathbound, but the cause of that isn’t the approaching army, but rather the five earth elementals and dozens of powerful Dwarves leading the army.