Chương 518: AF Chapter 517 – Epilogue 3 – Aelryinth II

Aelryinth… I didn't know where I had ended up as yet, but that was fine. There didn't seem to be anything important around at the moment, so I opened up my Sanctum Sanctorum and stepped inside. Since my Sanctum followed me around, it was accessible even if a world was dimensionally-restricted. Several reptilian heads poked out of the cave nearby. I waved at the Ices, and a dozen Really Good Apples popped up out of nowhere, arcing towards her.

The remaining heads all whipped out of cover and emerged in time for each and every head to get its own Apple, plucking them out of the air with deft speed and precision. There was no instant swallowing. The Ices had long learned that they could suck on the Really Good Apples for an hour or more, and enjoy the flavor the whole time. Shaking their heads happily, the cryohydra retreated into her cave to enjoy her snack.

Feature came snaking down from his place atop my house, shrinking and coiling himself around my shoulders in a swirl of motion, staying out of Dracoform for now. I gave my Eidolon/Familiar/Animal Companion a gentle bathing of Wrath, and he preened happily as the power of Heaven washed over him softly.

"Not sure where I am, although I definitely am not in Funf's area," I answered his silent question. A backpack covered in shimmery silvery time-stopping Quintessence heaved itself up out of my Masspack.

"Zeks actually had stuff there for me to take back, and some interesting things to say…" I headed off to the veranda that overlooked the lake downslope, the crystalline waters fantastically transparent without all the greenery to occlude them. I set down the Masspack, and carefully began to remove the contents. It was stuffed with things that might be useful back home on Terra-Luna.

There were at least three, maybe four, different Systems of magic being used on that world she called Auberean, some concurrent, some competitive, and almost all of them converging in the area of Artifice. Zeks, or Ryin, had emphatically told me that keeping a working knowledge of higher-tech and super-science had come in very, very useful.

I had long done so and would continue to improve it even without that affirmation, but it was good to receive some validation that I hadn't wasted hundreds of Skill Ranks taking the Lore and Profession Skills for so much techno-stuff to levels far beyond what Earth itself had ever reached. Give me a little time, and I could probably build myself a Galaxy-class starship from Star Trek now. 17 Ranks allowed for a LOT of stuff, basically IX-level equivalents in technology.

I had two devoted thoughtstreams doing nothing else in the back of my head but spinning out blueprints and plans for techno-stuff. A coldly beautiful head, fair-skinned with dark hair that ended in silver highlights, popped around the edge of the door-frame to my abode.

"Anything for us to do, Prime?" Number One asked, the Simulacrum reporting in from all the special building projects they were undertaking here while I was busy outside my Sanctorum. Like, you know, setting up production facilities. The magic Rules here in my Sanctum didn't forbid higher tech from working, after all!

"A crapload, Number One." I waved her in, and she zipped over and sat down promptly, looking with interest at all the stuff spread out on the table-top. With solemn care, I went over the contents with her, the other Sims drifting in as they finished up minor parts of their chores and swiftly gathered to join us. Pale-skinned neo-halvyr women alternated with ebon-skinned platinum blondes as the Sims went over the contents with me, examining each as they could.

They were Simulacra and knew it, unable to advance at all on their own and locked at sixty-percent of my Levels. So, the stronger I grew, the stronger they became with a simple re-Casting of the spell… but being a Ten was plenty powerful and capable of a lot of stuff, even if they couldn't accumulate Karma for themselves. They could accumulate it for me, however, as they put into effect a lot of my plans, and Tens have enormous amounts of power and potential they can use for things...

"The combat magic would require a whole new branch of magical specialization to use effectively. Making up alternates in the Matrix specialties seems to be almost anti-climactic, but the fact remains that Karma accumulates in the Isparian and Empyrean methodologies very quickly, even if all you do is just Cast." I sat back, contemplating the possibilities. I had no use for most of the Isparian magical skills, but the Mana Pool, Mana Conservation Skill, and Life Magic all had serious utility potential.

Their Item Magic had superb synergy with Artificing, while the Healing Skill was an alternate method of generating copious amounts of Healing power. Dozens of Scrolls detailing the appropriate spells were all being carefully gathered up for re- Writing to a spellbook format each of us could use. Very tellingly, there were no Stat restrictions on learning the Isparian magic, although to be GOOD at it, high Stats were a must...

The Isparian System could also basically advance Stat lines towards Exemplar status, which were appallingly good Stats by our measurements. I already had incredibly high base Stats, especially in the mental arena. I could start earning passive Karma and ramping up those five areas very quickly, indeed, and Ryin's Pool Theurgy would only help matters.

"Another infinite Karma dump?" Number Two, the inverted dark mirror of Number One, asked cheerfully.

"Looks like it." As if I didn't have enough places to dump mounds of Karma.

"Although Zeks said simple rep counts could generate enough moderate skill all by themselves over time." The various gems of power that could be inset into Weapons were clearly intended for Mortus Dius, especially the three Blackfire Stones. All of the smithwork was broken out of Itemized status, and we went over the particulars and gradients.

Nothing was really intended for me to use, being samples of Artificing using the multi-disciplinary Warfang Smithing techniques that were going to turn some of my friends and Vassals on their ears when I got home. Viable Set Bonuses that weren't locked to a specific design of Armor, for starters. You didn't need to make a full and complete suit of Armor to form a Set with this method. As long as it covered the appropriate body slot, it would sync its Set bonus with the other Pieces!

While only minor on the face of it, it was revolutionary in application and flexibility. You could have Defender Sets in leather, mail, and plate, and swap pieces between them as you liked without harming the Set! Likewise, the Infused benefits of Biting Strike, Crippling Blow, and Armor-Cleaving were independent of the ten-Slot Matrix system. It was another way to upgrade Weapons to a new level! …

although many of the effects would only manifest against creatures with Health Qi or otherwise unreasonable amounts of Soak-equivalents. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The Mana Charge system for powering magic items was interesting and potentially useful… and I'd likely not touch it for the same reason Zeks had discouraged me from doing so. I didn't want my Gear blowing up in my hands any more than anyone else!

Mana Conversion bonuses and percentage-based damage bonuses with Implements were the magical side of Weapon bonuses, and there was no doubt whatsoever I was going to be working on those. Twenty percent more damage was twenty percent more damage, after all... I eyed the assortment of Lenses, the Wands that could Cast virtua Imperils and Elemental Vulnerability spells… and they worked in Wand Chambers, which was extraordinarily powerful.

My Melees would be crying for joy when taking down the tougher stuff without needing a Caster around... I picked up the Twilight Rose of the Magos, the amarinthine quartz Ring redone in black star sapphire. The tertiary Empyrean Cantrip branch of Buffs glittered back at me, especially the Legendary Combat Medication and Legendary Healing Prowess. +50% to effects that Healed…

which included any spells with Vivic attached to them and were damaged by it, such as undead, most Fiends, and other negative-energy life forms. That was quite the damage Buff, and the defensive aspects of the Ring weren't bad at all, either, especially the massive acceleration to Fast Healing and Regeneration... Making room on my fingers for it would take some finagling. After all, I already wore four Rings…

The two major things were, naturally enough, the brazier containing a small flame of the Lost Light, and the seed of a Deru Tree, one of the intelligent magic-modulating mystical trees that helped regulate the environment of Dereth. I looked down at the middle of the lake below, and just nodded to myself. I had an area for it to grow in, and certainly enough magic was coming through this place.

"How's the Pyramid coming along?" I asked Number Five, as she was heading that project up. A fifty-stepper Grand Pyramid took a long time to make, especially inside a mountain, concealed from view.

"Level thirty-six and rising!" the Sim related cheerfully. It was a LOT of blocks to carve, even with multiple Sims working on it all. It was a good pace, since it had started at Tier 50's hundred-by-hundred Blocks and went 'down' in size as they built it up. I pushed the brazier of Lost Light forward into the middle of the table, the Celestial-born flame dancing happily in the midst of our combined Auras.

"We redo the Pyramid's apex design to direct appropriate energies into the Lost Light and help it grow on the Altar there. I'll be looking for the Essences of more Flames to help with matters. We don't have a Fire ley line anywhere, do we?" Heads shook all around. The Sanctum wasn't that large as yet, although it was growing, fifty feet in radius per day, gathering mass and energy out of whatever ether it bounded upon, even the raw stuff of 'Chaos' outside multiversal membranes.

"Are you capable of dropping non-antagonistic Clones and Duplicates now, Prime?" Number One asked quickly.

"Not yet, but soon." All of the Sims straightened up alertly.

"Zeks discovered that she could unlock Eternal Valences before breaking the Eternal Ceiling. She just needed the appropriate Lore modifier, Caster Level, and the Karma to open the Valences, and the recognition of the magic that you can handle it. The qualifier is hitting Seventeen and opening Valence IX equivalents, which you can then expand with Eternal Feats." It was a very clever work-around… and my Master Archtheurge of Seven Traditions should allow me to do the same!

"Eternal Valences then allow the use of post-V Valences, since they sit outside mortal restrictions on magic. She said there was a prohibition against Clones and Duplicates on her world due to the existence of a powerful and established corrupt Blood Magic influence, so Zeks didn't bring in any and won't before she makes Eternal the real way." Meaning, any Clone or Duplicate would come in Tainted, and that was a very bad idea which we weren't foolish enough to risk, despite the advantages.

"That should not be a problem inside my own Sanctum, as I set the magical rules here." Blood Magic wasn't banned in my Sanctum, but if it used negative energy, well, it was hugely impeded.

"I'd be limited to one Clone, and then one Duplicate for myself and one for my Clone for now. Given everything," I looked them all over, and dazzling smiles opened knowingly on all of them, "it's likely all of them will end up just like you." I was pretty fatalistic about Sylune messing with me like that now.

"We're all perfectly okay with being what we are," Number One stated firmly, and all the Sims nodded at her words. They were effectively magical Constructs formed from magically-treated steely ice, who used Alter Self spells to emulate flesh and blood and enjoy the freedom and emotions of being 'alive' and not Constructs. They still didn't have free will or souls of their own, and were perfectly at peace being what they were. Souls were something they could gain in the future for themselves, after all.

The fact they could only grow at a fraction of the rate that I did wasn't actually that big an issue, as they were all effectively Tens, and Tens could do a LOT of stuff. The number of projects they could pursue was basically limitless, and they didn't really get tired or physically need to sleep, only to regain magical energy. As aspects of my own mind, they were pursuing all the things I wanted to do and get done and didn't have the time to do myself, which was hugely gratifying.

Heck, just supplying the energy to keep growing the Sanctum every day was a load off my mind! It was a lot of Reserves pouring in to extend the area, and the amount required grew by ten Levels every day...

"Bringing in Aru for Zeks was another momentous Event, and I received a huge boost of Karma for it… which I have naturally directed into the appropriate growth avenues. I'll have access to IX+4 Valences once I hit Seventeen, effectively Valence Thirteen, although none of the Source Code magic or actual Valence X+ spells as yet. I can probably wield those spells back on Terra-Luna, as Eternal-grade should trump the restriction to V's, just like they were open to the Archmage."

"Access to VI's and higher will be revolutionary!" Number Two exclaimed excitedly.

"The high-tech assemblers really require some edgy magitech to start working efficiently, and that should revolutionize the tools we are able to use!" V+4's only did so much. Sometimes you just needed a full IX to get shit done, not just a Raised V.

"I'll just appreciate the multiplying of high-end rep counts." I had shaken my head when Zeks had told me that she had actually achieved Efficiency on Rapid Ritual against a VII, namely Resurrection. Two thousand Castings of a boosted VII, and THAT one, costing 10 goldweight a pop! Her Mana Pool had definitely helped with that…

"You already have the Cloning chamber made up, don't you?" I asked them, and again the rainbow of smiles broke out. Naturally they were thinking ahead.

"Very good. What do you need me to Cast for now, and what do I need to work on?" Sixteen Sims started taking turns reporting, although it was all /tellepathy and thus superhumanly fast as tasks were reported, assessed, realigned, changed, needs to be met delineated, and updates and upgrades put into place. I was a hyper-dutiful and workaholic fresh almost-Seventeen by my own design, totally capable of changing the world in many, many ways.

This crazy exodus and return across Creation was giving me opportunities to do things I simply never would have been able to undertake staying at home and governing my Allegiance, due to the related time suck. Now, with Clones and Dupes soon able to work safely inside my vastly-expanded Sanctum protected from Terra-Luna's magical restrictions, I could pursue private goals at the same time as meeting all my public ones, keeping them out of the eye of others and forging a nice magical reserve for emergencies.

There was no doubt that this was entirely intentional by the powers I served, as they simply could have guided me straight home otherwise. By abusing temporal continuity between multiverses, they were effectively manufacturing time out of nothing, and I was paying them back by expanding their writ to effectively three, maybe four different new multiverses now, and potentially more in the future if I came back this way… or the Clones I'd left behind did the job instead. And all without them saying a word to me…

I contemplated what I'd find when I finally reached Funf, shook my head, and started getting to work. Writing all these new spells to a common spellbook we could then allocate among our Witchbonded Rings was the first thing to do. Then I had to raise an island in the middle of my lake and plant the Deru Tree seed. The Blessed Creation Sublime Chord-pumped energies involved in expanding my demiplane should be more than enough fuel to ensure rapid growth. And…

it would soon be time to make a Clone based in the Sanctum, and some Duplicates once the Clone was mature…