The New World

Chapter 297: A Change of Pace

Chapter 297: A Change of Pace

Peering at the blade’s inner sections, I found similar, multi-layered designs I’d encountered before. Unlike my own, this blade didn’t stop at one layer of context for the surface lines. Many sheets coated a core of energy powered by some far off, cipheric flow of energy. Discovering where that originated was all but impossible, but learning Schema’s ciphering techniques were quite the opposite.

Keeping that in mind, I pocketed the shard into my personal dimension, saving it for later. Studying it would be massive for my future, but it was a long term investment. Even from a casual glance, the runic markings exceeded well beyond my grasp, similar to an elemental furnace. It would take years to fully know how it worked.

The shard wasn’t going anywhere either, assuming the Overseer didn’t demand it back from me. However, he couldn’t prove I took it, and I’d argue that it was taken by a Hybrid or the like during the conflict. It wasn’t as if I or my guild was omnipotent, after all. Regardless of how I obtained it, the fragment offered a point of progress I needed.

If I could use my own dimensional slicer, learning to warp wouldn’t be necessary. That would save me a lot of time I didn’t have, but for now, I put the rest of my intentions back to Blegara and its capital, Saphigia. My time here was limited, and I wanted to establish a robust and long-lasting presence here before leaving.

The first way of doing that was by destroying enemy forces throughout Saphigia. I had the means, and I was also the most lethal soldier in our army. Before walking down that road, other ideas popped up in my head first—those ideas spawned from the Overseer’s advice, particularly the part about helping allies.

Even if I didn’t want the guy knowing I took the Sentinel’s spear shard, it wasn’t like I ignored him during our conversation. I meant what I said, and I listened intently. Using that advice immediately, I put up a bulletin list of what needed doing. First and foremost, Kessiah came to mind. She needed a real boost given how much healing she managed on her own, and a bunch of half-ass jewelry wasn’t going to cut it. The same could be said for the empty hospital I gave her.

Brainstorming for a few minutes, I came up with a few ideas that I went about executing. The first plan involved messaging Torix about helping Kessiah with logistics. She needed someone bringing her people to heal instead of her running through the front lines. That kept her safer, but it also made her healing more efficient since she’d be more rested.

Sending Torix that request, I headed back over towards the hospital. Once inside, I found many troops healing from their wounds and infestations of the Hybrids. Using Omega Strains, several doctors discovered they could clear minor Hybridization using them. The Omega strains harvested the metal out of the body precisely, requiring less intervention from me directly.

Just as these new approaches took a load off me, I wanted other measures in place to take a load off of Kessiah as well. The first part of that process involved making a healing station for her specifically. This new post required three main components: a room covered in supportive runes, tools to lower the amount of blood necessary for her healing, and a new suit specialized for her.

Lining those three pieces together, I got to work on the room first. I set it up at the center of the hospital. Calling on healing specialists in the guild, I got a few runic diagrams commonly used in Schema’s new age hospitals. These runes worked to enhance healing, prevent bleeding, and bolster natural regeneration. Combining those runes with my own, I multiplied mana regeneration, increased endurance, and added constitution for the entire area.

With the blueprints in place, I translated some of the work into the cipher. At this point, I understood the complex, dimensional language pretty well, and managing robust uses for the archaic words could be done. Influencing an area in a certain way was one of those new possibilities. In this case, that involved an enormous amount of healing centric incantations.

Of course, I was still limited to what I could do. Adding mana regen? I could do that. Assisting mental focus? Trickier, but still doable. Increase intracellular water retention? Well, let’s just say it was a work in progress. Even if I could do something like that, the cipher was incredibly potent on physical spaces. That’s why I stayed careful while crafting clean, crisp inscriptions for the room. Having all this work backfire would be soul-crushing, after all.

Managing all those issues, I designed it for the perimeter of the place. Once blueprinted, my carving started up in my grimoire. It took several hours, but I got a revised and refined copy of the engravings before I began charging them up. With that locked in, I racked my brain for quick, easy additions. To my good fortune, a few ideas came to mind.

Molding my dimensional fabric, I built several tables for people, each with crystallized quintessence loaded in them. This mana type acted as a mobile power source for anyone needing something powered, and it could charge a healer up as well. I combined that with the runic power system I made for a few of the previous buildings earlier. This connected the hospital like a modern building, giving it the luxuries of electricity.

I also made a ring that generated freshwater. Installing it in several spaces, these rings acted as sinks powered by quintessence as well.

Beside the sinks, I made a unique operating table for Kessiah. I placed many enchantments over its surface, some of them mirroring the wall’s runes to compound their effects. I even gave a sterilizing zone effect for the trickiest medical work needed here. It would be for priority cases that required immediate attention.

That finished up my simple ideas, and I moved onto my other main ideas next. One of those primary helpers for Kessiah was tools. She handled all of her healing with only her blood, over and over. Giving her other options would let her be more targeted with her abilities.

Of course, I wasn’t exactly an expert on the task at hand, but a bit of brainstorming gave me suggestions. In particular, a few utensils immediately stood out. A scalpel would be pragmatic, not only for simple surgeries but for taking out Hybridization as well. The blade being made of my armor ensured that ability.

As for the second tool, I was thinking of a syringe that amplified the effects of whatever it injected. Many medicines worked wonders, and having something like that might be useful. As for the third and final tool, I settled on a plated block of quintessence. I know, I know, a giant block of mana. Genius. Revolutionary even.

In all honesty, was it complicated? Maybe not, but it would be useful. Crude compared to the other tools, the plated quintessence would act as an enormous power source that Kessiah could draw from. She needed that kind of charging station to prevent anemia, along with a team of people helping her out, so her talents shined.

With that coming together nicely, I finished energizing the wall runes. A flowing ribbon of enchantments cascaded from the pages of my grimoire. They lined up across the walls, singing through stone with utter ease. To power these augments, I generated crystal bulbs of quintessence, acting as both light and power sources for said runes.

It gave the entire expanse an ancient yet gentle atmosphere. On the one hand, the cipher dotted the walls with its unknowable depths. On the other, the modernistic and minimalist designs I cooked up gave it a clean feel. It didn’t clash as much as I expected, so I counted that as a bonus.

After that, I drafted and revised runic work from several medical personnel on the site. They worked with Bryan, the retired dungeoneer, to give me runic work that amplified the scalpel and syringe functions. Having a reference, I once again went about translating and charging up the cipheric augments involved.

It took another few hours since the first tool, the scalpel, required tiny, precise markings across every inch of its surface, excluding the blade. That required the vast majority of the scalpel’s time investment, as the actual razor wasn’t tricky. It did take a bit of finesse to get the edge sharper than what I usually made, as actually chipping away at the edge of my fabric was nearly impossible by now. I ended up just growing a sharp shard and welding it to the end of a handle.

Eh, if it works, it works.

Once I refined that section, I got the runic work sorted out as well. Having a few medically knowledgeable staff helped me tremendously since I could ask questions the entire time. This sped me along while I molded out the glass for a syringe. The only other parts needing my dimensional fabric were the device’s actual needle and struts along the sides.

The plunger required some molten metal as well since it would be reused and often. I made that part imbued with hunger, which made the device self-cleaning. It would absorb a thin layer of the compound remaining after injecting any kind of medicine. It saved cleaning time, along with solving some sanitation concerns as well.

Speaking of saving time, I saved a lot of time on the plated quintessence. It took seconds to make, a real godsend compared to the other utensils. It turns out that generating a big block of quintessence and wrapping it in a thin sheet of dimensional fabric didn’t take much effort. I put an antigravity well augment on the surface to help suspend its heft too, and boom, a portable power source was made.

Staring at the crude block, I gave it straps for carrying around, and I spread some elementary runes over a few of the empty spots on the surface.

You could never have too many runes, after all. After finishing the physical work, I charged my runes in the meantime. Once saturated, I hovered my first batch of glyphs for the scalpel in front of me.

Inching down with a hiss, the glowing symbols floated around onto the handle. Combine that with the glistening edge, and it resembled a dagger more than the scalpel it was supposed to be. However, it served the purpose as both a weapon and medical tool well enough, so I moved on.

For the syringe, I took a different approach. Leaning on the plunger’s innate hunger, I tricked the runes into doing what I wanted. I made the cipher markings require a kind of trading pattern to operate. A bit of physical matter in, and it would dispense energy out.

This flow of power served as a check all augmenter, boosting the properties of anything within the syringe. It could be dangerous with certain compounds, but it could be tested on other things before living people. Having already finished the backpack, I lined up my work and gave it an inspection. It was solid stuff for the most part.

The Woundless Carver(lvl requirement: 9,000) – This blade was designed by the Harbinger of Cataclysm to be both apt at slicing and poor at killing. This thin edge can inflict temporary wounds that will quickly regrow within minutes due to the strange, unearthly runic carvings along with magic impulses sent off routinely by the apparatus.

These impulses grant energy and vitality to both the user and the recipient alike. If close, others can benefit from the item as well. Combine this with the runic augments, and this is a potent weapon for anyone who wields it, doctor or not.

This is due to the blade retaining the tremendous durability of its composing material. If used swiftly, it can still kill someone before they can regenerate. It also offers defensive measures, being able to block blades and bullets given skill from the wielder. Even more so, the edge devours eldritch and Hybridization on contact, letting it clear minor infestations. josei

These properties culminate in a potent tool when used well.

+2,500 Endurance+1,500 Willpower+1,250 Constitution+1,250 Intelligence+500,000 Health+500,000 Health Regeneration per minute+1 Million Stamina Regeneration per minute+350,000 Mana Regeneration per minuteTemporary Wounds – Any wounds imposed by this blade are restored within a minute of inflicting them. This includes post-death, though life restoration will not occur, only tissue restoral.Precision – Prevents the shaking of the user’s hands and gives greater dexterity of the fingers and arms.Healing Pulse – Every fifteen seconds, a regenerative pulse emits from this blade, restoring mental acuity and focus for the next few seconds. It also speeds regeneration for anyone in the AOE | Current Radius: 10ft/3Meters

I smiled at it, hoping it would serve Kessiah well. I turned my eyes to the syringe.

The Immolating Epicure(lvl requirement: 8,000) – This hypodermic needle is a strange, dangerous artifact created by the Harbinger of Cataclysm. Using strange, awkward runic work, he’s made a dimensional rift within this device’s glass tubing. Anything entering it must trade a portion of its mass in exchange for energy.

This energy results in increased potency for whatever is being injected or drawn. While potent in the hands of a healer, this device could also serve other nefarious purposes. An addict could use this to increase the purity and potency of a chosen drug, as could an assassin do so for poisons.

This multiple-use case scenario means this is an explosive, dangerous device that should be kept in safe hands, else it be used for vile purposes.

Immolation – Anything drawn or injected must sacrifice 1/10th of its original mass. The metal of the syringe will devour this as a sacrifice.Epicure – Given this apparatus’s hunger, it owns a refined palate—the more potent the drawn liquid, the better this device’s output.Emergent Improvement – As a liquid is injected, it will be more potent after the initial sacrifice. This can result in strange outcomes.

I winced at the needle, kind of surprised by how…mixed its results were. I’d be handing this off to Kessiah to see what she thought of it, but it might be in better hands with Torix.

The Everlasting Battery(lvl requirement: 4,000 | Mana Reserve: 1 Billion) – This simple device is a storage container for an unreal amount of quintessence based mana. It can enable ridiculous output by any standard user, and it has virtually endless use cases. Any mage would kill for this device, along with a few mana starved galactic leaders.

The reasoning for this scarcity is simple – this device is safe to use. Most large mana batteries are incredibly volatile. Even when used with great caution and care, the crystallized mana can be taken advantage of by most competent mages. Others have tried this same strategy to only have the mana within the battery tampered with, resulting in a colossal explosion.

This battery is protected by a sheath of strange matter that is hyper resilient. This resiliency comes with other perks as well. The material powers a flotation enchantment on the pack’s surface, making it weightless. It’s tough enough to serve as a shield, and it even slowly rebuilds its mana reserves using this material’s natural mana production.

These factors make this valuable, so ensure that its wielder is either immensely powerful or protected well.

Now that was a more positive breakdown, and it doubled as a warning from Schema for my artifact’s quality. I appreciated the guidance, as it kept me from putting people in negligent danger. However, hoping Schema and other people would advise me all the time wasn’t going to work out long term.

Taking a more proactive approach, I sent Kessiah a super golem guard. She was always on the front lines with Krog guarding her, and while he did an admirable job, Alpha’s death taught me that I couldn’t be overly cautious. Plus, we owned enough golems that being stingy with them was foolish.

After sending one of the titans to Kessiah, I put my hands on my hips, inspecting my work with pride. These last few steps concluded my medical revamp, and the medical utensils sheened on the new operating table. The tools and etched room splayed out with a simple yet refined look. Inscriptions covered most of the surfaces, giving it a detailed appearance that contrasted the simple designs.

It reminded me of a library for that reason; it was a place full of detail and depth yet laid out for practical purposes. Satisfied with that end result, I turned to one of the medical practitioners that helped me with the wall glyphs,

“Hey, let Kessiah know this is for her, alright?”

The woman bowed,

“Of course.”

Happy with what I’d done so far, I moved out towards Torix. Devising plots within his lair, he turned to me while his obelisk automated many maneuvers at once,

“Ah, guildleader. It’s good to see you. What do you need?”

I raised a hand, “I’m just here to look around. You know…check on stuff.”

“Hmm…check as you will then, but do give me space to continue my tasks. Many of these dilemmas require a semblance of speed, lest those on the battlefield perish from my negligence.”

I gave him a thumbs-up, looking around. His lair was, once again, a cluttered mess. His chaotic mess, no doubt, but damn, was it hard to look at as an outsider. Not wanting to mess with his flow, I assisted him with strictly positive stuff. That started a potent yet straightforward tool – a massive mana crystal.

I mean, the pack I made for Kessiah even hinted at the prospect and giving Torix more mana would only help him out. Finding the middle of his space empty, I generated a circular table of stone there. I left the middle of the rock open. It imitated a hollowed sundial. Creating metal holdings, I retained a gothic, angular style mana holder before filling it with quintessence.

The bars offset most physical traumas before I created a web of wires around it. They’d slice anything that got to grabby. The behemothic gemstone itself offered light to the dim room while ebbing with radiant energy, leaving my skin warm and tingly. It reminded me of the comfort of a warm bath combined with the alertness of a cold shower.