Chapter 37: Summoning Stone? No, It's a Mana Stone
“... It died.”
I watched as a pawn on the screen succumbed to the infection from its injuries.
I had used every method I could to try to ensure its survival. Dark Worlds was a game with a myriad of options to accomplish exactly this.
I prepared the medical room, making it the optimal environment for recovery. I used the finest medicine at my disposal as both prevention and cure, and used pawns with the best medical abilities for the operation.
When that wasn’t enough, I requested help from a different faction, pushing them to send their finest psychic operative. Using their abilities, they tried to maintain the injured pawn’s health, but the clock was ticking.
I had no revival items, nor pawns with abilities to revive the dead. It was still early on in the playthrough, after all, so that couldn’t be helped. I would’ve used dark, otherworldly arts if I could, but I hadn’t researched that far into the Nu-tech tree yet.
Fighting the infection was a race against time—whether the immune system would overcome it first, or it would kill the pawn before it could be managed. Of course, the results were quite obvious now.
Death.
D̴̛̞̬͎̥̰̫̘̜̼̥̫͋͐̈́͂̈́͑͐́̔̊͒͛͝͝ö̴̙̦̱͈̗̺̫͍̣̯͓́́̆̿̆̕n̸̡͔̺͔̟̳̥̦̬̼̫̩͓̮̳̔̈́͝'̷͍̯͙̭͇̊̈́̇͆̊̅̇͐́͆̈t̸̩̭̻̟́͑̅͌͋̽̈̑̀͋͝ ̴̨͕̤͓̫̩͙͈̝̈́̿̉̄̎̉̚͘̕ẙ̶̖̥̮̱͓̥̼̦̯͍͚̈́͜͜͝ō̴̜̺̜͍̭̤͉͖̱̻͔̥̓̉ų̵̛̝͙͂͒̿́̑͠ ̸̡̛̩͚̻̩̺̪̺̯̗̼͙̦̑̒̈͒̒̕͜ͅf̷̡̟͍͈͖̺̼̣͈̟̪̈̏̑̔̿̓̾̂͝è̸͓͍͙͈̯̪̀͆̀̀̿͘͝ẻ̷͇̻̻̼͖̱̯̣̞́̋̅̔̈͆̉̍̿͋͛̌͗͛l̷̢̜̜͎̠̥͔̟͓͚̲̮͎̞̖̂͂̈́͗̃̇͊̃̈́̕͝͠ ̷̡̨̢̨̠͔͇̞̹̰͈̞̮̀̏̎̈́̂̒͑̊̐̆̈͘̚͠f̶͖͙̫̏̾̔̊̾́̔͝r̵̨̨͍̹̖̞͔̝̜̼̠͇͖̱͇͛̔̕û̶̠̯̥̀s̴̳̟͇̮̥̲̰̰͑͐̽ͅṫ̴̙̳̭̂͂͑̅͆͌̓̄̚͝r̸̨̰͈͍̦̟̗̫͂̏͆̅̏͊ã̵̡̦̟͍̣͉͉͇̒̂͠͝͝ͅt̶̨̻̰̘̘̥̥̖̬̀̑̚ȩ̷͚̣͉͈̈́́̍̂̂͑̍̈̈̈͋͝ͅḓ̶͙̗̐̈̊̋̅̇̈́͝͝?̷̡͔͚̪̤̜͈̻̼̟̣̜̓̓̆͑̆̉̀̿̈́́̈͜͠
“... This is frustrating.”
This was a pawn I invested a lot of time into raising. They were among my most skilled soldiers, and they were the best equipped for the job. Yet it fell so easily when an unexpected barrage arrived, incapacitating the pawn almost instantly.
“At least we won the battle in the end, but…”
Ultimately, it was a major net loss.
It was supposed to be a minor skirmish meant to remove one of the enemy faction’s bases from the region. They were interfering with my solar power grid, interrupting operations at my main base, so their elimination was necessary as negotiations were long out the window.
But enemy reinforcements arrived, attacking with their heavily armed mechanized infantry.
Ẅ̶͕͉̤̙̫́̂̈̃̓̑͛́̅̎͗̚͝h̸̡̜̭̼̳͇̣̟̳̹͕̹̫̆ỹ̷̧͍̣̪̥͎̦͎͙̘͚̤͊ͅ ̷̢͚̂̊̎ḍ̶̖͙͓̘͎̺̞̠͍̳͗̌͒̃̈́̐͂͂͌͆̿̎͝õ̷̢̡̹̳̼͉̜̺̟̦̱̇̅̈́͋̅̂͝͠ͅn̴̛̲̜͓̫̹̜̞̯̜̜͕̥̼̳̑͒̃́̎̓̑́̆̋̎̈́͝'̷̧̠̺̲͎̗͙̫̮͓͕̫͖͌́͐t̸̝͑̿̀̍̍̂͐̓͂͂̾͋̃̀͌ ̵̠̣̇̂̽̌̈͆͌̊̒̐̔̌͗̈́͝ỹ̴̧̩̭̝͙̟̌̈́͌̆̆̾̍̕͜o̷̡̡̬̦̳̩̪̭͙̠̬̣̤̗͋̒̆̅͜ư̴̛̮̩̳̺̲̠̰̮̲̗̘̬̎̈́͌ ̶̫̟͖̓͊̀͗̐ţ̴̭̯̩̼̠͖͎̥̩̫͛̀́̿͋̓̔͘͜a̴̧͙̼̒͆k̶̢̧̝̳̪̖͔̲̣͓͈̽͐̑̒́̈́̀͑͛ę̸̼̖̼̠̺̫̣̣͖͔̏̎̀̀͋͜ ̵̛̯͇͓̹͚̭̦͇̙̭̤̒̏̎͊̑͐̈́̐̓͜͝y̴̧̲͈͈̼͗̇͐̂̃̉̌̈͒͊͜͝ỡ̵̡̬̉́͘͘͝͝͝ư̸̺̔͌͐̆̈́̈́̽̎̌̑̎͐͘̚r̷̛̰̗͍͖̱͉̱̩͔̬̬͕͕̯̎͑́̀̂̈́͐̀͝͠ͅ ̷̛̩͍̯̄̃̈́̓̐͌͒͛̊̈́͘r̶͙̟̩̼͇̯̊͗̓̒̀́̿̕͜ę̴̡͍͕̘̈́̌͆̅̎̈́̊̈̂̉͋̌͘̕ͅv̶̦͊͌͐̀̅̄͒͛̚e̷̻͙̥͈͍̙̋̃̒̍̈́̽́͐̇͒̕͠n̶̤̖̭̯͍̅̉͐́̽̓͐̐̊͂͊͐̑͑ģ̷̢̠̙̤͎͉̗̼̘̬̤̝͙͋̿́̂͠ͅē̵̛̻͙͗̈́͛͌̂̌̐̊̽̾̚̚͝?̴̢̧̛̹̠̗̜̫̗͔̱̜͇̂̅̋͛̕͜ͅ
“I should take my revenge.”
I opened up the weapon storage in the warehouse with a click. An inventory menu appeared, showing a device I had stashed away for use only during special occasions.
It was a communicator that sent signals to an ancient orbital laser weapon.
“... But this’ll be a bit wasteful, won’t it?”
Ḑ̷̨̹̤̤̘̹̟̌̕o̶̝͍̩̭͈̯͆̓̍̆̀̕e̵̳̠̜̫̯̮͇̍̎̐̎̽́̏̌͒̊͝s̴̢̛̺̟̜̗̬̦̿̐̀̾͂ ̴̨̛̻͇̠͓̘͈̝̌̋̒̌ṫ̷̹̜̫̹̼̱͊̅̌̌̔̔̊̒̑̍͘͝h̸̛̦̙̻̯͙̫̲̯̃̍͌͗̚a̶̞͎̳͖̥̩̘̘̦̫̰͚͑̾͐t̴̛͙̆ ̸̯͓̫͙͈̿̓͝m̴̮̻̞͇̜̗͙̖̣̜̜͚̽̌̔̂͛͛a̷̧̺̝̞̩͈̩̭̣̒ţ̶̰̤̗͔͉̣̝̣̠̓͋̓̓̿̆͜ͅt̴͖̮̿̄͘ẻ̶̛̼̦̗̂̀̇̄̽̎͗͂͂͘̚͝͠r̴̢̢̛͖̮͕̥̞͇̣̘̤̞̅̿̏͐̉͑̒̈́́̈́́̚͝ ̵̨͎̰̮̠̦̻̬̟̫̪͈̼̮̇̉̆̋͐͒͂̊̍̈́̇̔̊͘͜t̷̢̛̜̤̦̱̺̰̺̱͇̄̒̓̐̽̽̎͗͂̽͊͂̀͝ǫ̶̡͕̙̯͖́̍ ̷̠̙͔͋̌̈́̐͌͊̌͒́̓͊͝͝s̶̛̤̗̯̘̱̫̯̹͖̜̥̾̍͛͂͗͆́̚͝͝ͅǫ̶̡̰͚̖̬̰̜̹̰̻̾̚͝ṁ̸̡͈͎̱̰̖͖̟̥̦͇̝͔͖̙͒̔͋̂͛̉̽̃́͆̂̍͝ę̶̢̮̬͍̹̞͎̘̰̀̐ō̸̢̡̘̮̟̩̝̼̝͔ǹ̶̡͔̲̖̼̯̪̼̪̠̬͎̀̽̌̒͒̉̀̾̄̎͝͝ḛ̵͙̭̹͚̿́̋͒̃͋̓́́̚͠ ̷͔̱̯͎̮̳͉̊̏̄͂̂l̷͎͖͓̃̃̐͌͜i̸̲͕̺̠͙̠̱̳̼͚̦̠͉͒̐̀͋̿̇͗̐̏̚͠͝k̵̨͉̪̹̺͕͉̤̩̬̤̮̃ȅ̸͎̳͎̬̜̎͘ͅͅ ̸̢̛̳̝̟̹̦͉̰̱̜͉̰̫͉̄̓͌̂͗̿̇͊͘͝͠y̵̨̨̡͇̻͉̲̘̩̦̩͈͋̌̆͆o̷̰͍̓́̔̀́͌͝u̷̠͙͈̥̇͆̉̈́͐̉͘?̴̦̅̀ ̷̢̮̹̥̝̬̞͔̪́͗͌͌͛̅̅̓̄̋̽̇̕͜͜͜͜͜͝ͅẎ̵̛̛͔̪̯̮̬̺̩̑̊͌̀͊̾̈́̉̌̕͝͝ŏ̷̪̫͊̏́̿̾͋̎̀̅̃͝͝u̶̳̼̠̝̪̮̯͙͙͆̑̃͌̊̒̊̅͠ ̵͎̗̝̫̩̑̐͌̂̇̀̔̑̚̕͜͝͝s̴̖͍̺̆͐̈́̈́̓̆̇̆̏̈́̓̀̽͘̕h̵͚̺̻́̔̇͛̿̊͌̓̇̇̕̕̚̕͝o̴̧̘̼̲͓̫̓͗̔̑̀́͆̽̓̈́͑̒͗͝u̸̧̹͈͕̞̳̣̻̬͙̖͛̀̎͛̒̓̽̀̃̕͜l̸͖̟͓͈̦̘̹̦͕̭̮͗͑͌͐͗͒̀̄̎̽̿͘̕d̷̛̝̮͓̖̲̘̤̳̣̉̈́̆̀͒͐̈́̂̌͝ ̸̧̯̗̈́̈̏̉̂̇̕p̷̪̹̪̥̪̀͆̋u̸̞͈̍̆̊͊́͝l̷͔̫͈͚̭̅̊̔́̔͒̔̀̈́̉̔͌͝l̷̡̝̗͈͉͕̊̓̓̃͛̑̽̄̅̚͘ͅ ̵̧̙̙̬͈͎̣͖̾̃̈́́̆́͑̌̆͗̌̎̕͝t̴̮̞̱͇̳͎̤͐̔̿̒̓͜͝͠h̴̠̙͕͑͌̌́͌̾̊̓ͅȩ̸̢͇͉͉͔̟͙̰̠͈͎͈̦͕͑̍́̌̒̏̓͂̕̚̚͝ ̷̡̢͕̭̻̠̘̪͙̓̂̒͛̌͂̐́̍̄̈́̓̕t̶̨̫̭̥̠͉̼̮̟͈̀̐͊̈́́̓̚̚͝r̵͚̞̗̙̲͈̺̙̖͚̭̣͗̐̕͜ͅĩ̵̻̫̠̀͌̽̚ḡ̴̜͇̩͉g̵̢̱̠̜̫̙͎̙̽́̋̀͊̀ͅę̷̢͖͙̥͚̥͕͍̈́̎̆͛̕͝r̸̥̭̜̳̭͕̃̋̀̕.̸̞͖̝͚͎͓̳́̊̀̃͐̎̿͝ ̷͙͚̩͖̌̽̃̈́̋͂͗̌̃̕Y̷͚͍͙̘̠͓͐̈́̓̚͠ǫ̶̛̱̤͕̜̫͂̓̋̆̾͛͌̐̽̄͋̃̚u̴̡̡̹͙̦̘̬̼̺͉̜͚̫̖̔̓ ̴̡̛̬̟̩̳͓̼̂̂͂̓̅͜ͅh̵̨̢̥̤̲͉̯̤͍͇͉̟͖̝͓̒̽́̅͛̐̀̄̕͘͝a̶͈̞͗̈́ͅv̴̡̡̩̝̥̼̦̒̇̂͌̈́̐͂͑e̴̢̛̫̟̤̗͈̎̋͌̄̓̉́̔̚̕̚͝͝ ̵̞̳̼̻͇̼̹̠̺̭̓͆̌́͐̆̌͗͑͂̀̎̚͝ͅe̴̡̟̭̬̮̘͈͉̯͕͓͂̊͑͆̒̿͗̿͂͗́͐̕͝v̵̪̫͖̎̎͛͋͒̈́̒ę̶̢̺̹̼̱̺͇̰̣̯̏͗̀͘͠͠r̶̛̩̊̊̈́̾̄̿̕͝͝y̵̗͙͖͇̠̩̤͍̩̩̲̐͌͋̅̒̐̏͜ ̶̰̙̮̝͇̤̮͚̪̘̳̐̉͑͋̔̋͛͂̋̊̆̌͛̀ͅͅr̷͕̼̙̝̹͍̟͛́̌̐̔̾͌͗̓̾̒̚͠͝ͅi̴̝͍̳͑̃̈̀̈̇̋͗̚͠͝g̵̡̢̜͚͈̮̳̬͉̣̓̈́̓̓h̸̡̜͎͙̿̇̐̎́̃͛̅́̂̈͒t̸͙͔̠̥̰̣͈̲̩̟̱̖̉̇̍̂̎̀̄̎̐̈́͆̏͠͝ ̷̹̱̦̩̙̇͑̐̂̏͛̆͗̃̄͑͒̚t̶̡̮̯̎̆o̸̧͚͈̼͙̣̥̤̩͍͖̻͐̓̕͜.̵̘̮̜͇̲̦̤͗̆ͅ
“No, maybe I should use this after all…”
My mouse pointer hovered over another pawn that was grieving over the death of the first. After selecting that pawn, I directed it to take the orbital weapon communicator from the weapon storage in the warehouse.
Speech bubbles floated above its head as other pawns nearby conversed with it.
“Those bastards! They’ll pay for what they did to Jeon!”
“Where are you going? You’re not going to–”
“Where else…? The warehouse. We’ve got something we can use to repay the favor, right?”
“You’re insane! While what happened to Jeon was a tragedy, this is–”
“I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU THINK, FREED! I WILL HAVE THEM PAY!”
“Stop! Someone, stop her!”
I simply watched as the pawn angrily stormed towards the warehouse while the others ran after her, attempting to stop her.
“They really made a lot of the interactions between pawns realistic… I should add more mods for the next playthrough to make some more dramatic scenes.”
I̷͉̗͍̘͌̄̉̆̐̍͆̍̄͑͜͝ ̴͙̀d̴̡̧̩̯̲͎̫̭͈͈͗́͋͌i̶̼̖̪̼̘͚̮͓̠̼͎͚̖̊͛d̵̡̢̛̝̟̫̩̟̠̞́̂́̽͐̋̾̑̐̋͊́̕͠ ̶̛̬̟̦͙̓̃͌̃̑̅̏̆͂̈́m̴̰̯͙̃̅̒̂͌̀͛̈̅͒͠͠͝ỳ̴̢̡̲̳̞̲̮͎̞͎̳̄̔̀͋̈́ ̴̻͚͍̅̔̾̍̒b̵̜̭͉̣̖̗̯̘͖͔͖̹̘́͆̆̈̊͛͘͜e̷̜̳̙͙̯̩̙͗͌̈́̓̎̏̏̽͊͐͜͝ś̴͚͖̮͚̱̮͈̩̹̖̹̥̓̍͋̀̂͆͌͌͒͝͝t̷̟̃́̈̆͐̅̕͘.̸̠͇̠͕̗͈̘̩́́̑̈́͑͆͘̚͝͝ͅ
“... Why do I feel a cold chill around my nape? I closed the window, so it can’t be the wind.”
Although I hadn’t ordered it to do so, the pawn locked the door behind it as it rushed into the warehouse, preventing the other pawns from following her in. The other pawns began bashing the door with their fists.
I watched as numbers representing the damage they were dealing to the door floated up from the door tile.
“Irine, please! You can’t do this! They have children, too!”
“Irine, open the damn door! Fuck! You crazy bitch!”
“Does somebody have a breaching axe?”
“We have a fire axe upstairs! Someone, go grab it, quick! We need to break into the warehouse before it’s too late!”
“They’re really desperate, aren’t they…?”
The pawn hastily shuffled through the items in the weapon storage, searching for the communicator. Had this not been a game with cartoonish graphics, I might have mistaken this as a real scene.
The expression really sells the emotion… No, are these really cartoonish graphics? Why did it all look real for a second?
“I pray to you, oh God of ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇, ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇! May you grant me your blessing this day so that I may deliver righteous judgment onto the wicked!”
The pawn… no, the woman, Irine, prayed as she clutched the communicator between her hands.
“Irine, we’re coming in!”
“Miro, just break the damn door down already!”
KRRRSH! KRRRSH! KRRRSH!
“Faster! Break it faster!”
“I’m trying!”
KRRRSH! KRRRSH! KRRRSH!
“Irine! PLEASE! Come to your senses!”
Was this game always this… immersive?
M̵͔̙̞͓̞͍̭̦̤̖͚̝̳͒̂͛͋̑̎̋͋͗̍̕a̵͖͉̪͓̹͆̌̒̈́̑͝͝ș̷̡̭̣̯̥̙̠͓̝͙͊͒̔̆͌ẗ̸̡̛̫̗͈̠̗̘̙̻̤́̐̎͛͒̂̉̓̈́̃̚̚͜͠ȩ̷̛͚̦͉̰͓͎̯̭̩̗̈́̓̄͛͆̾̑͒̌͘̕ͅr̷̼̩̤̪̱̫̤̝͎̘̙͕̺͖̖̓̽͑̏͑̎̂͂͑̋̕͘͝,̵̢̜͎͚̮͍͙͍̘̦͙̗͔͎̘̎͐͌̂̂̅͑͘̚ ̵̡̯̦͓͇͇͕̻̿̀̌̇̊́̊͋̐̕͘͠ͅw̵͕̲̜̩̲̹̤̏̊h̷̡̘̝̭͇̖̰͙̳͎̗̖̅̊̄̋̓̾̄̅͒̏̐̕͝͝͠ă̴̛͕͉̮̌̊͋̏̄͂̀͝ẗ̷̨͖̺̙̠̠̥͖̮̰́͒̃ͅ ̸̬̦͋͗̇͗̀͊̕a̵̛̩̘̪̐̅̑̍̍̅̿͌͠r̶̢͂ę̷̛͍̺̻͉͍̻͎̺̆̈́͑̈́̃̔͋̀̐͗̾ͅ ̶̜͎͙̏͋͂̐̉̐̆̆̚ỵ̷̡̡̨̾̆̓̅̚ò̸̦̥͎̦̺̯͇̭͉̪̭́̈́̈̌̽͋̆͜͠͠u̴̢̡͚̗͔̠̲̖̘̘̎ ̴̥͒͛͑̑̈͊͘̕͠͠ẅ̸͕̰̹̮̤̓͜ḁ̵̡̧̯̮̫̥̤͔͓̐̀̎̄ĩ̷̡̢͉͚̮̘̙͕͎̯̎͐̈́͑̄̚͝t̸̜̮̘̝͙̪̳̠͙̓̍̏̀̽̇̿̑̎̾̈́͆̓͘͜i̷̡̤̰̞̥̪̺͖͗̂́̍̌̓͑n̷̢̡̧͙͈̠̹̯̍͑ğ̶̨͕̭̥̙͈ͅ ̷̡͎̘͉̱̲̯̺̫̗̍́͜f̶̡̮̪̭̗̬̙͖͔̟̺̤̩̤̿͠o̶̲̒̉̒̈́͆͆̈͜r̵̪̭̍̀̓͆̍̈̊̐̏̄̓̏̚͘?̵̡̛̟̙̬͓̣͖̹̘̹̫͂͗̊̔̾̑́̐ ̵̭͕͉̮̱̜̝͓̙͖̹̌̍͐͊̄̓̅̅͂̑̄W̶̛̯̽̆̑̇ȋ̶̙̜̰̖̗̹͑̽l̶̡̘͇̘̖͙̲̟̠̜̖̲͑̌͗̈́̈́̊͑͐̊̔̏͑̿́͝ͅḷ̴̡̖̭̺̖͇̘̟͙̱͚̣̂̏̈́̔̅̃̔̎̂͋̓̌͋̾͝ ̶̢̛̛̼̦̠̥̪̪͖͇̿̉̑̆̈́̍̏̽͑͜͝͝͝͝y̶̞͉̮͚̦̥̤͇̪͉̻͇͙̱͋͗͌͂͂̀̍̈̈́̾͠͝ǫ̵̢̡͍͎̳̗͉̼̩͚̩̯̤͔̾̅̏͗̆̉̂̀́͊̾̏̔̽͝ǘ̸̡̢̻̲̣̳̳͕̮͍̪̜ ̸͉̹̂̊͆͑̏́́͂̐n̷̢͖̟͍͎̟̈͂͑͑́͗̓̕̚͜͠ō̵͎͎͖͐́͠t̷̨̟̺͔͚͍̼͍͉̼͗̍̈́̓͝ͅ ̷̻͉̞̮̤͕͆̈́̇̊̓̂́͗́́̏̕͝͝͠c̷̨͔̣̜̗̣͚͗͌͌͂̏̽̂ö̸̫͚́͗͗̏́̐̓́ḿ̵̢͈̥̝̦̖̖͇͛̆͛̎͘͠m̵̙͍̙̘̋̃̓͘͝a̶̧͉̥͔̙̫̗̻̥̟͈̣͒͘͝n̵̲̺̝̻̤͖͎͒͌̇͂̐̈́͆̌̾́͆́̾̈́͘ͅd̸̛̗͊̉̆̉̍͗̐̔̈́̀̅̔̾́ ̷̪̝̮̙͈̻͖̥̥̟̜̫̈̄̾̑̈̍̈́̀̍̓̍̓̕ͅt̴̛̛̟̬̬͇̪̤̯͎̘̥̽̇̎͊̈́̎̃͒͂̚h̶̖͙͕̼͋͝ȩ̸̡̺̹͖̼̜̺͍̗͚̈́͋̍̉̎́͑̏̍̎̿͆̕͝ ̷̡̙͕̗͔̦͔̳͐̔̎w̴̢̧͈͇͉̲̯̜̭̳̙͕͐̏̓̔̐̎̂̀͂̀̊̈̚͜͝͠ò̵̮̩͙̅͐͑̽͐͋̅̊̈́͘̕͘͠͝m̴̛̺̥̩̼̜̤̱͕̳̺̈̓̋̒͂̊̃̋͛͛͊͛͠á̵̢̬̪̻̗̤̙̞͎͚͍͔̺̈̀̀n̶̨̛͙͚̜̠̲̹̮̋͋̀̏̈́́͆͊͝?̴͓̺̭̬̩͉͉͉͕̼͔̜͐͘͜͝
“... Oh, right. Irine, you have my blessing to proceed.”
Click.
…
“Thank you, ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇. I shall be sure to deliver their foul souls to you in your name.”
…
Hm?
…
A white light filled the screen.
“Sir/Lord Yvell! Please come to your senses!”
“Huh?”
What just happened?
By the time my vision returned to normal, I found Esphera and Graille desperately clinging to my arms. When I looked down at my hands, I realized something strange was happening to the stone in my hand.
I felt it vividly—the sensation of silver power being drawn from my body, gathering within the stone, pushing it to its limits.
Tumble looked visibly distressed at the sight of the stone glowing with power.
“U-Um, benefactor? I-Is that going to be alright?”
“Lord Yvell! Please stop channeling your power into the stone! It is going to explode!”
“That is right, sir Yvell! If you keep this up, you will burn your hand! Please stop!”
“W-What?!”
The urgency in their voices sold the danger of the situation to me in an instant. I immediately let go of the stone, cutting off the power that was drawing towards it.
The stone, which was now lying on the ground, lacking the ritual circle that would make it a summoning stone, glowed a familiar silver color. And it remained that way even after a minute passed.
“... It isn’t going to explode anymore, is it?”
“I-I am not sure. The power seems to have… stabilized? I have never seen this before.”
“Sir Yvell, what did you do to it? Your power seems to have been contained within the stone.”
“I…”
No, how the fuck would I know?
I was just holding the damn thing. I didn’t know it would pull something out of me and rig itself to explode!... Hold on.
That silver light… Isn’t this a lot like…?
I crouched down to pick the stone back up. The two goddesses beside me panicked and reached for me, but I stopped them with a simple wave of the hand.
“It will be fine, I think. Tumble, can you pass me that blue branch-like thing over there? It looks sharp enough to use.”
“Um… Here you go, benefactor.”
“Thank you.”
The silver glow emanating from the stone reminded me of something Esphera said long ago, before we had even met in person. It was something she had sent me via DMs on Chaos.
(Upvoted? Gallery?... Is the latter what this universe is called? Forgive me, for I am still unfamiliar with the terms here. But yes, I was the one who had granted your world a blessing.)
A blessing.
At first, I didn’t think much of those words. I thought she was some cringe larper crawling into my DMs, trying to get me to test out their game. Now, however, I’m finally realizing that there’s more to what she said than I first thought.
I’m still not too sure what she meant by “granting my world a blessing.” Could a “blessing” be the ability to pass on one’s divine power to another? That would explain how she could manage to grant my world a “blessing” when her capabilities as a constellation were a lot more limited then.
Looking back now, she must have been referring to one of my colony sim saves, but those worlds aren’t real. Those worlds just exist in a game, after all. So where did all that divine power go?
Directly to me.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
“Are you… trying to draw something on the stone? Your drawing skills suck.”
“Why don’t you give it a try then, Ori? The stone’s a lot more malleable now that it’s filled with div–magic, I mean. Try inscribing the ritual circle for summoning efreets on the stone.”
“Bet. But I’ll need a reference to work with. I’ve never seen that circle myself.”
Oh, right. I think I have a picture of the circle somewhere in my phone…
I pull out my phone from my pocket and open up my gallery. There it is.
“Here. Think this can work?”
“... You fucking pervert. That’s pajama fan art of that VTuber singer Myurin.”
“Oh. Wrong pic. Here. It’s this one.”
I had accidentally tapped on the picture next to the ritual circle one. I swiped the screen to switch it over to the right image.
“Does he like them big?... Fucking men…” (Whispering)
“What was that?”
“It’s nothing, pervert. I can work with this. Just give me a minute.”
Ori began drawing the circle with ease. She was a hobby artist, occasionally drawing BL fan art of her favorite ships, which is why I was quick to entrust her with the job. Once she was finished, she handed the stone back to me, looking a little concerned.
“... Hey, that thing isn’t going to explode anymore, right? Please tell me I didn’t just help you make a magic grenade or some shit.”
“No, it’s nothing like that. You’ll see.”
I grabbed the stick back from Ori and used it to redraw some parts of the circle. Although my skills were meager compared to Ori’s, I could at least handle some simple shapes.
Esphera and Graille, who were watching the process from the side, grew visibly confused.
“Lord Yvell, why are you changing the circle all of a sudden?”
“It is starting to look very different from its original shape.”
“Tell me, you two. If I said I could summon forth a destructive beam of light, would you believe me?”
““Of course I would. Without a doubt.”” (Esphera & Graille in sync)
Alright.
Belief acquired.
“Tumble, would you gnomes mind if I test something on a tree or two?”
“Huh? I do not think I follow, benefactor.”
“I think I can tear down a tree with this stone.”
“You what…?”
““Sir/Lord Yvell?”” (Esphera & Graille in sync)
I can feel it. The power I’m directing inside resonates with the newly-formed circle within this stone. These constellation-reserved belief mechanics… the magic… maybe I can abuse them too.
“I will apologize for this later.”
I spread my legs apart and thrust the hand clutching onto the stone forward. I recall the sensation I felt earlier, drawing forth the power in my body into the stone. Then, I brace myself for the inevitable recoil.
This is it! This will work!
(I n c i n e r a t i o n.)
“I n c i n e r a t i o n!”
My vision blurred.
Ziiing!
KRRUNCH!
Thud!
A thin beam of silver and dark light, intertwining with one another, erupted from the stone, shooting forward into a tree. The beam carried enough force to blast a chunk of blue wood off the tree, but couldn’t eat through the wood entirely.
By the time I realized what was going on, I was on the ground, lying on my back. The recoil sent me back a small distance, throwing me to the ground.
“Lord Yvell!”
“Are you okay?!”
“You idiot! Are you alright?! Did you hit your head?!”
“Oog?!”
Everyone (the gnomes included) gathered around me, visibly shocked and confused at what just transpired. To be honest, I was shocked too.
I don’t know what exactly came over me, but somehow, I felt that it would work just as I had planned. And sure enough, it did. And… I was excited.
So very excited.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“... Maybe he did hit his head?”
“Lord Yvell?”
“Are you injured?...”
I couldn’t help but erupt into laughter. And who could blame me? After all, I had just invented the world’s first offensive magic.
“This stone… it isn’t just a stone for summoning!”
“What?”
“It’s…”
A mana stone.
Ramube recounted the events he just witnessed.
A beam of light, a mix of intertwining bright silver and pitch blackness, shot forth from the stone in Yvell’s hand, striking a nearby tree and tearing off a portion of wood from its body.
Silver and black. An odd coloration for divine power.
“Oog…”
Ramube then felt the need to recall his vision of the dark future ahead.
The scenes flashed by in his mind. He could still remember them perfectly. Nothing should be amiss.
No, nothing should’ve been amiss.
“... Oog.”
A question then came to mind. One that he hadn’t thought of when the vision first arrived to him in that restroom that day.
He had seen all the constellations struggle against that creature for survival. Almost everyone had participated in the fight, save for the few who were uncertain what to do in the heat of that moment. And yet, in that vision…
Yvell was nowhere in sight.
“This mana stone… No, let us call this new type of inscribed stone a spell stone. Perhaps we could use it to improve relations between gnomes and ordinary humans.”
“Oooh. What an interesting proposal, benefactor!”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Lord Yvell!”
“Intriguing. But will that be enough? I feel that the humans will not be swayed by these new stones alone.”
“Unfortunately, it will not be. But it could be a start. We will have to think of something better later. As for the growing schism, we will need to lessen the tensions between the humans and gnomes first. Convincing people still blinded by hatred to reconcile with the bridges they’ve burned is practically impossible, after all.”
Ramube watched as Yvell continued discussing with the rest of the group. He seemed like an earnest constellation, doing all he could to help his disciples, despite the many unknowns about him.
So far, he has yet to witness anything particularly off about his character.
“Oog.”
So, he decided to reserve his judgment of this mysterious constellation for the meantime.
“Sir Gorilla, please stop picking your nose.”
"... Oog."
