Buttopia
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Chapter 57: Finally, More Magical Engineering
🕑 Added 2024-12-23 00:00:05 +0000 UTCNot sure how to start this process, I placed my mallet on the table in front of me, causing an overlay to pop into my vision, similar to how the knowledge skills seemed to work on monsters. I hadn’t been expecting that and was only setting it down to get it out of my hands, but I couldn’t complain about the results.
The overlay had three points highlighted on the mallet. One at the base of the handle, one where the head connected, and one on the head itself. I selected the point on the handle, and text appeared in my view.
Mallet Handle: Potential mana infusion point. Investment of mana here will create a bond between the tool and the wielder so that even if separate from them, their core will continue to supply the tool with a passive mana flow. The range is limited.
I had some theories on how to increase the range, but at the moment, I didn’t have the best access to resources. Conductivity had increased with the refined soul mana plates I had used to build my core, so it stood to reason that different elements could very well be used to further enhance my ability to channel into the mallet. With that in mind, I selected the connection point between the head and the handle.
Mallet Eye: Potential mana infusion point. Investment of mana here will create a malleable eye that allows for adjustment to how strongly or lightly it holds to the head.
Okay, I had a feeling that meant I could increase the force, but that just wasn’t something I was overly knowledgeable about. I would need to do a lot of reading on how to properly construct a joint to change the swing of something before I even considered that avenue. I selected the final option, pretty sure already of what that would give me.
Mallet Head: Potential mana infusion point. Investment of mana here can be used to embed different materials within the tool’s head.
Well, I guess that meant it was the best place for the dungeon core. It was possible there were other uses for it. Could I alter the physical structure of the mallet based on what materials were embedded in it? I had no idea, and right now, there were just too many things I was going to need to test and so little time left here to do so.
If my house hadn’t been entirely destroyed, I did have my workshop full of materials that could be useful, though none of them were magical in the slightest, so how helpful they would actually remained to be seen. That thought left me deeply nostalgic for home as a flood of memories rushed through my brain. With some difficulty, I pushed them away for the unknownth time since I got here. The anxiety that worrying about home brought did nothing to help the situation as it was now, and it was important to remember that. I had work to do, and that was what I was going to focus on.
I pulled some of the mana soul plate scraps out of my storage and carefully started to work the first bit of it into a ring. Once I had it nearly the right size, I pushed it up the handle of the mallet until I couldn’t move it any further. My hope was that this would increase the mana flow from my core, as it would be needed with my next plan.
Going back to the scrap, I made two smaller overlapping rings, closer to the way I had seen a core diagrammed with a single mana orb. I wanted Corey to have access to its own spells. I pulled a smaller hammer out of my storage and beat the rings into the top of the mallet head, doing my best to keep them from horribly unbalancing it. I wasn’t sure how much the balance would matter if it could fly, but I imagined it wouldn’t hurt to attempt precision even if my workbench wasn’t the best.
Once I had those in place, I pulled the overlay back up and placed my hand over the mana infusion point on the handle. I could feel small tendrils of mana prod from my palm into the wood. I closed my eyes and focused on my core and slowly, deliberately pushed my mana out through my palm into the handle, seeking out the soul plate ring I had put on it. The grain of the wood seemed to fight my attempts to infuse it. It was too late to worry if a metal mallet would have been a better choice now, so I pushed on, forcing the tendrils deeper until they grasped onto the ring. I could feel the energy flowing from my core down my arm, building into the mallet.
Suddenly, the overlay flashed red with a warning.
Danger: Mana overload imminent
I ripped my hand free of the mallet with some difficulty, but it was enough to cut the flow. The handle’s out edge had charred slightly in the energy exchange, but it remained whole. I picked it up and gave it a gentle swing. Nothing broke. Better yet, I could feel the mallet as an extension of myself now. My mana channels were treating it as something akin to a new limb. How would this feeling interact with the dungeon core? There was only one way to find out, and that meant more mana infusion.
As I repeated my attempt on the head, I felt my hand start to burn. I attempted to pull it free, only for the mallet to refuse to come off. Dammit, I had forgotten a core rule of playing with electricity, never complete the circuit with your own body. It was a terrible time to learn how similar mana flow and electricity were, but energy was energy, after all.
The fact that it was being generated from me was probably the only reason I was still alive. The backflow down the handle was passing across my heart and while I was pretty sure it wasn’t giving me a heart attack, I still didn’t like the feeling at all. Then, the pain of burning flesh seared across my brain. Trying to shut down my mana channel wasn’t working, it just kept circulating as the pain increased. I grabbed the handle with my free hand and tried to rip it off with no success. I opened my mouth to yell for help, but before the words could leave my lips, the mallet dropped back down to the table, the metal now gone with only an imprint left on the wooden head where it had been.
I wasn’t anywhere nearly in such good shape; my core was nearly exhausted, and I could feel the mana still rapidly flowing through my channels. I knew from one of my shield mana skills that it was possible to reabsorb mana, but I had no idea how to actually do it, and now wasn’t the best time to learn. I grabbed my screwdriver from where I had set it on the table and pushed mana into the handle, hoping it had been an infusion point.
Danger: Mana overload imminent
The message popped up again. I had managed to discharge most of the excess mana; what little was left I used to turn my regeneration on. Checking over my health, it had turned out that, yes, my heart had been in danger. Three out of four of the valves had been damaged. I focused the regeneration there instead of the burns on my hand and crawling up my arm. Those were much less likely to kill me than a failing heart was.
“Cecile, could you bring me Chip and Corey? I overdid it and need some help recharging my core, but I think I’m ready for the next step,” I yelled back to the twinog.
“Yep, one second!” he called back.
I examined my work while I waited. As far as I could tell it had worked correctly, but that didn’t mean much yet. This was only my second real step onto this path, and I was sure I had a very long way to go. I poked my finger on the spot where the rings had left an imprint, and I could feel something similar to my own socket there. I was sure I could insert a mana orb, but could I insert the dungeon core? That would be the real test.
I felt Chip leap onto my shoulder as I watched Cecile place the dungeon core on the table in front of me before sliding into the seat on the opposite side.
“Interesting, I can feel the mana in that thing, and is it connected to you?” Elicec asked while Cecile eyed my burns.
“Yeah, in theory, Corey should have access to core and mana channels once inserted into it. We may even be able to give you a mana orb if this works the way I planned. How’s that sound? Ready to continue the experiment?” I asked, already knowing the core was on board.
“I am. Do you know if it will hurt? I’d rather not experience what your arm looks like,” Corey asked.
“I don’t think it will. This was due to my own inexperience in doing this. I’m going to have to figure out a backflow regulator in the future, but the mallet itself should be entirely safe. The big question left is just if this actually works,” I explained, hoping I wasn’t talking out of my ass.
“Okay, then let us begin,” Corey said. I reached over and picked up the core and carefully worked to place it on the bigger of the imprints left over from the rings. The core disappeared as it slid inside the hammer, and my linking channels flared to life.
One of the many forbidden paths of the Spiral is that of dungeon core advancement. While technically forbidden, the ban on it is a moot point, as the knowledge of how it was done in the past has long been lost. And with the lack of dungeon raiders these days, it seems very unlikely to be rediscovered. Then again, with almost no knowledge of how it was done in the past, how would we even know it was happening again?
The Forbidden Paths by Glarppp
