Chapter 244: Another Storm on the Horizon (Patreon)

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

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I realize I might have saved a lot of lives by suggesting to pursue peaceful negotiations, but I had my second guesses that I might have offered the wrong advice when witnessing the massacre that followed afterwards. However, if I hadn’t suggested a more peaceful option, then Klaman might have slaughtered them all. I may say that I don’t care about other people, but I still sympathize with them. There will be a lot of grieving people once this is all over.

I can’t afford to spend too much time worrying about foreign affairs; I have my own people to look after, and right now, I have a storm to address. I need to return home soon so I can prepare and make a containment vessel for the storm’s core.

I check one last time that everything will be fine with the Elders and let them know that I’ll be returning to the Nexus early. I leave a clone behind and gather all the mana for many kilometers, turning it into reserved mana before activating my Class’s [Duplicate Swap] teleportation Skill.

I haven’t tested my Class skills enough, and while I need to get back home quickly, I might as well perform a brief experiment. I have a clone at the midpoint between Lunaley and the Nexus since I don’t want to be caught in any traps. I Instantly feel my mana reserves deplete and then refresh with the gathered mana.

Something like this would have been impossible without [Manipulate Magic], and I have to wonder just how much that one Skill makes me seem like a Legendary being. [Sense Magic] too, but that’s more subtle. Only Legendary beings would be able to teleport intercontinental, and even then, it’s difficult for them.

I feel more and more mana drain, and then I feel an overwhelming sense of exhaustion from the Skill. Did I just break my Class Skill? It feels weird; my body and mind are fine, but the Skill is tired. I guess it’s not powerful enough yet, even if I could theoretically fuel it.

It’s a good thing I gave myself enough time just in case this didn’t work since it looks like I’ll have to use an airship to get back… or I can cast a normal teleportation spell. It’s not ideal since the mana cost is exponential, but this is something I need to explore in case I need to get back to the Nexus quickly, like in this exact situation.

I gather more mana, turning it into space mana. The mana swirls into a thick disk in front of me as I cast the spell. I watch as the space mana falls through the portal, the telltale sign that it works. I can’t see through it, so I can’t tell how far the portal made it. I cast [Adorn Wings] and fly through it.

Once I exit from the other side, I'm a dozen kilometers short of my intended location. I guess this is the limit of my portal spell despite the absurd amount of mana used. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have any idea where I was. However, I have so many perceptive fields and clones around here that this is not a problem. By using them to triangulate my position, I can easily figure out where I or a clone is despite there being nothing but water for thousands of kilometers.

I prepare to make a small airship to travel the rest of the way, but a thought enters my mind. Can teleportation anchors work on portals? It’s worth a try. Theoretically, portals work differently from teleportation as it’s more like a wormhole than instantaneous translocation. If the teleportation anchors work by redirecting teleports, then portals, which bridge two locations, may not be affected. Of course, it still needs to be tested; it could very well redirect portals as well.

Now, let's try this again, but with some magic to empower the spell.

My normal portal spell range is halfway between Lunaley and the Nexus, so I want to test how magical portal spells compare.

I cast another portal spell, but this one is thinner as less mana was needed. Considering how much less mana was needed to open the portal, I think my maximum range with magic is the full distance from the Nexus to Lunaley, twice the regular distance. Considering the exponential cost, this is vastly more powerful than the normal spell. It’s a ridiculous distance to achieve but still nowhere near what Lin was capable of. I wonder if there are more efficient ways to open portals? I can’t just research Airships; I need to explore other methods of travel just in case.

I have a clone fly through the portal to check if it bypasses the anchors, and to my pleasant surprise, my clone flies into my bedroom. I was certain the anchors would incorporate all forms of effective teleportation, but it seems there’s a rather glaring blind spot.

I follow after my clone, closing the portal behind me. I welcome the Nexus’ hot, humid air and change out of my traveling dress. It is made to keep me warm when outside the Nexus, but here at home, I’d cook myself wearing it.

The first thing I do is warn the Elders of the approaching storm.

“Thank you,” Tusile says. “The Storm Wardens just reported that there would be a particularly powerful storm, but we didn’t know it would be another superstorm.”

“I’ll try to disperse it before it can do any damage, but we should evacuate just in case.”

Now that I think about it, we may not need to evacuate to the edge of the Nexus. If I make a bunker with super-solid mana, it will completely shield everything inside from the storm, and it’s proven to be incredibly tough as even Legendary beings struggle to break past the super-solid hulls of the airships. The bunkers will even prevent storm mana from getting inside and manifesting spells due to the density of super-solid mana.

However, even I won’t be able to build a bunker in every village by myself, so I will need the aid of the Mana Arc to complete this task.

I tell Tusile my plan and ask where I should build the bunker. She lays out a map of the village and carefully looks it over.

“Ultimately it doesn’t matter, as long as everyone can get there in time. We’ll have plenty of time with Storm Wardens forecasting the storms. However, when accounting for future expansion. I think it would be best somewhere near the south side of the residential district.” Tusile points at a spot on the map.

“It will take up several plots,” I warn her.

“That’s fine; make it as large as you need.”

With that settled, I fly over to the chosen spot and survey the area, thinking of the style of architecture I want. It should be something that matches the surrounding buildings. After some thought, I settle on the traditional Runalymo style but with a light influence from Victorian architecture. Taking inspiration from Victorian porticos, I build a roof over the entrance supported by columns. Even though Runalymo buildings don’t have porticos, it fits the storm shelter thematically and symbolically. To make it fit in and not look like an entirely different architectural style, I decorate the columns in the Runalymo style.

I start by forming long piles and driving them into the sea floor with a spell, then forming the first level of the bunker. I make separate rooms for toilets, kitchen, pantry, dining room, and storage, all on the first floor of the building.

For the second floor, I build a lounge room complete with soft sofas and a children’s room to keep them entertained during a storm. The last two floors are filled with beds. There’s no individual rooms since this is only meant to be used during a dangerous storm or perhaps other unforeseen dangers. I also can’t accommodate a room for everybody in the village without making the bunker seven stories taller.

I finish the bunker with an angled roof and an attic before incorporating mana wiring and inscriptions into the bunker. I don’t have any specific use for the attic, but it’s there in case more space is needed. As for the mana wiring, it’s to fuel enchantments for lighting and climate control.

The bunker looks more like a hotel than a bomb shelter, but no one would want a large square and plain building right next to their house. I make sure to make it visually appealing and coat the building in light mana to make it look like it was built out of wood.

Now, all it needs is to be stocked with supplies, and it will be ready. That’s one down and a couple hundred more to go. I summon all spare clones and have them fly to other islands to inform their Elders of the storm and that I will be building a bunker in their villages, too, so they don’t have to plan a whole evacuation of their villages.

I fly to Temple Island and land next to the Mana Arc, and with its help, I start building bunkers one by one. I’d get too exhausted if I did it all by myself, but using the Mana Arc to offload half the stress, I can build bunkers all day.

It took half the day to finish all the bunkers, but I can’t rest yet. I need to build the containment device for the storm core.

The biggest challenge in containing the storm core is containing the MM force that it produces, which can extend out for thousands of kilometers and pulls mana toward it. It does get weaker further out, like gravity and magnetic fields do, but it still has a significant effect. Fortunately, I can limit that with [Manipulate Magic]. The next problem is that the core is liquid mana, which will dissolve all mana less dense than it. Of course, that’s easy for me since super-solid mana is denser, but that just goes to show just how hard it actually is to contain a mana storm’s core, as only someone with [Manipulate Magic] can manage it.

So, while the construction of the container is relatively easy for me, this puts it into perspective: there are only two that I know of that can even make one, Kayafe and me. The Mana Arc too, but the magic of the container has to be reapplied every two years to contain the MM force.

I start the construction of the container by making a large, industrial-sized barrel out of super-solid mana. Barrels have been historically the best way to store a liquid. Technically, spheres are better, but the flat top and bottom of a barrel are for ease of storing the barrel. Next, I weave magic around the barrel, commanding it to never allow MM forces past it. And that’s pretty much all I had to do, but I still decorate the barrel with the image of the storm.

The core containment is done, the bunkers are done, and now all that’s left is to tell Kayafe about the storm and wait for it to arrive.

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Tana POV:

Tanafyam watches the door to the final room of the monster den open. Inside is a gigantic being of bone and legs. It skitters around on dozens of legs that end in sharp points and clasps its bony mandibles together. Its head is a skull with a glowing orb in the forehead and purple wisps in its eyes. Two long scythe arms are poised at the ready, waiting for him to get closer. It looks like a long-dead skeleton, but Vitality washes over him, so much that he feels mana toxicity from it.

Vitality Devourer (Exalted), Level 1102 Life Drainer (Exalted), Level 1011 Soul Reaper (Exalted), Level 875 Deathless Champion (Heroic), Level 1242 Life Bond.

This will be the most powerful enemy he has faced yet.

His heart thumps loudly as he dashes into the room. He lashes out with two swift swings of his blade, launching out arcs of Vitality-burning flames. The Vitality Devourer dodges the flames easily and retaliates with its tail, whipping at him with blinding speed.

Tana’s [Danger Sense] warns him of the incoming attack, and he ducks under it. The tail slams into the wall, causing an explosion that pelts him with rubble. He dashes forward and throws a bead of fire, but once again, the monster dodges by undulating its body.

More and more of the monsters he’s fighting are using danger-sensing skills, and it’s getting really annoying. He needs to figure out a way to hit them, either by deception, speed, or some other method of delivering unavoidable damage.

Tana tries again and again to get close, even utilizing his teleportation ability, but each time, the monster moves out of the way as if reading his mind. The room becomes increasingly damaged as the monster retaliates, cleaving deep gashes into the ground with its scythe arms or cratering the walls and floors with its tail.

They go back and forth in a deadly dance until the monster grazes Tana, sending him spiraling into the air. His bones shatter, but he only grits his teeth and sends healing flames over his body.

He lands on the ground and teleports out of the way of the incoming bone scythe, but he is taken by surprise by a kick from one of the monster’s many legs. He feels his ribs crack as he is flung into the stone wall.

It’s predicting my movements, Tana realizes.

It’s merely playing with him! Anger rises in him, and he unleashes a burst of Vitality-devouring flames. The Vitality Devourer willingly takes the attack head-on, the wisps in the eye sockets making it look smug. It’s as if the monster is taunting him!

The flames spread over its body, growing hotter and hotter as it releases more Vitality as if showing him that no matter how much Vitality he burns, he can never burn enough.

Tana clenches his jaw in fury as he stands up; nothing has survived his flames, and neither will this monster!

The bony monster blinks, appearing much closer, and before he can react, he feels something cold pierce his stomach. The monster brings its skull closer, the wisps glowing brighter, and his anger gives way to an unnatural fear.

Panicking, Tana grabs his waystone key and activates it. Appearing at a safe location, he collapses to the ground and heals his wounds. The unnatural fear is still fresh in his mind but is slowly fading.

He knows when he’s beat; he’s not stubborn enough to charge back in, but he vows to slay that Vitality Devourer once he’s figured out how to kill it and defend himself from precognitive attacks.