Chapter 430 – 49th Floor (Part 5) – Conversation Module

“So, I have a tumor, in me, which you want to extract, build a brain, and base structure for your body, and then transfer yourself over with my help,” I summed up the Astrologer’s request. It was annoying how he hadn’t said this right off, but I could kind of get that.

Talking about wanting to birth a baby out of me and then taking over said baby, would be incredibly creepy. It wasn’t a baby, the Astrologer had said a number of times, but it felt like it. It wasn’t a simple procedure in my mind. I would be at a huge disadvantage during the process and would require that the Astrologer heal me during and afterwards.

“Yes. It is one of the possible ways I can extract myself from this predicament. The less optimal choice would be overwriting a person, but that carries far more risks and complications.”That didn’t sound encouraging at all.

“And how exactly are you going to do this. Surgery isn’t painless?” I asked. I had surgery before coming into the tower and it definitely wasn’t painless.

“By cutting off the nerves in your spine. Your heart will function, and I will need to heal you up after I do the basic construction of my body. I will be using Astral Projection to fill in quite a bit, but I need a physical anchor of some kind to draw in energy.”

“Will you be able to? You talked about there being a connection? And your stats? Do they even exist anymore?” I asked.

“That is a risk. A very big one. Once I construct the body and implement Astral Projection to hold the rest in place, there will be a limited time that I can tie that skill off and keep it ongoing while you cut my connection and I move over. There is a lot of room for things to go wrong, but I have walked you through the procedure twice and you clearly understand what needs to be done.”

“I know. I know,” I said with a heavy sigh. This wasn’t simple at all. That was why I was just trying to wrap my head around all of this. I would get some sleep and we would review once more in the morning before starting, but it was just a lot to think about and to understand.

“Thank you.” I looked at the statue of the Astrologer in surprise. “Trust does not come easy to those of us in power. Getting this high up, there are piles of corpses behind both of us. I know you are hesitant, and while we could fight, it would make things a lot more difficult and the chances of failure much higher.” That was very true.

I didn’t like the Astrologer in the slightest. Well kind of. He was like a tumor, and was growing on me a bit. His insight into the mechanics of this world were impressive. Most of it was from his time conducting research into energy, but he clearly knew what he was talking about and not just making things up.

The insight into the Regeneration stat was the most impressive in my mind. That we weren’t taking energy from around us, but it was coming from a person’s mind. Regeneration another name for willpower.

There had been studies done by quizzing people coming through of the names they saw in the store without informing them ahead of time. While it was incredibly rare, the name willpower had come up a couple of times instead of Regeneration.

This man really was a scientist. And not the mad science and raw insight of the Ritualist, but an actual scientist who conducted proper studies and did blind trials to confirm various assumptions. He had been the lead scientist of the UCS before taking over. Focusing on energy interactions.

I wanted to discuss with him about the type chart, but held off. This body construction was far more important than other topics and he kept coming back to it. I could understand that. He wanted to escape but not alienate me at the same time.

“Well we will need to team up to beat the Divine Empress,” I said. I was actually feeling quite hopeful. Once I was healed up and the Astrologer freed, we would double team her and crush her. After that, well we could have a conversation about things. I didn’t want to give up my future Empire, but I would be open to compromising if he didn’t do anything to break my trust here in the tower.

After that, I was sure we could come to an agreement. The Astrologer clearly was reasonable and he had his priorities straight in my mind. Unlike the Avatar who was horrible and the Protector who just wanted to hide away and protect.

It was honestly refreshing in a way. I would never trust anyone fully, but this was the case of being forced to work together. Still, he did put me in this position. Very amoral like me, but not a crazy monster like the Divine Empress who wasn’t willing to talk.

“That I agree with. Afterwards, we can talk more and work something out.” He just said what I had been thinking, which showed we both had similar mindsets.

“What I don’t understand, is the tumor? How did your Homunculus know to target me?” I asked.

“Ah, well it is a minor thing. He targeted people who arrived after the Calamity. Knocking people out when they don’t have stats, and using a combination of skills. The hope was at least one person would get strong enough and survive long enough to get to this point.”

“The arrival? That…I need to think about that,” I muttered as I thought back over two years. It was hard to remember anything about that time specifically.

“I would apologize, but I am not sorry in the slightest. I refuse to be trapped here forever and will escape no matter what. I prefer to work with you, and I am glad you aren’t too upset,” he said. I shook my head slightly at that.

“I am upset, but I also understand. Your Homunculus held off the Divine Empress and saved my life. You are fixing the issue now as well. So, I consider us even in that regard.”

“Thank you. If it makes you feel better, I wouldn’t be able to do the same thing. Your stats are too high now. Quite high. Honestly the progress you have made is impressive. I know you mentioned robbing the Divine Empress, but the fact you have fought and escaped her multiple times, means you have beaten my record,” the Astrologer said.

“She was trying to capture me, I think. To torture me or make me into some twisted bit of furniture. If she was serious about killing me, I don’t think I would have made it here alive.” I wasn’t delusional. The Divine Empress had not been bombarding me with skills, only pursuing me and wearing me down.

She hadn’t been aiming to kill me. That last attack and been precisely aimed as well. It was honestly impressive and the fact she thought she could capture me showed how much she outclassed me. Another reason I needed to work with the Astrologer to kill her.

With our skills combined, and possibly roping in the Protector, we could battle her down. Get some teamwork going with the power of friendship.

“I do have a question. Tying off your skill, how does that work?” I asked.

“That is complex and a bit of secret. But I am happy to explain the basics and principles. Why do you need hand signs and vocal commands for a skill?”

The Astrologer really liked asking questions using the Socratic method, or he probably wanted to skip the parts I already knew to tailor his explanation. “To allow the Almighty System to activate the rest of the skill.”

“That is part of it. But the hand signs and commands are also symbolic. Representing the skills and ones understanding. The greater the understanding, the more one can color outside the lines the System sets. I have investigated and used many skills myself. Channeling, is the ability to use as much or as little energy as you wish while using a skill.”

“Want a more powerful skill, channel in more energy. While it is a stat used for enchantments, it can play a role in skill use as well. Channeling is the active draw of energy from oneself into another object. The stat just makes this process easier and smoother.”

“The System creates an imprint of energy for a skill, a framework if you will. Various frameworks have various modules attached to them. Altering and controlling the power of the skill along with a huge range of factors. I have only begun to investigate some of these modules.”

“It is not easy. They are small and quickly disappear. The System likes to hide its secrets. Or is just that efficient. But I have made great progress in the energy using ones. I don’t have much else to do all day you know. So, I look at my skill Astral Projection.”

“I am copying portions of the module to draw in energy and how some of the stats work and other skills work to create a module of my own, by imprinting my energy a certain way and adjusting the skill. Compared to the System, I am a child drawing with crayons, while it uses a CAD software for its modules, but it allows me to maintain Astral Projection. Once I am unconscious, there is a time limit as the module will decay. Once it breaks, there will be no more energy maintaining the skill.”

That was a much more in-depth explanation that I expected. I felt like a noob. Here I was patting myself on the back for training, using my skills, working out how to move with high level stats, then the Astrologer here was figuring out the intricacies of how skills worked and adjusting them.

It was honestly humbling. I knew he had research teams and years in the tower to work all this out with nothing else to do, but I also knew the Homunculus was separate from him and they didn’t communicate. The Homunculus kept its Astral Projection going all the time. That meant he had figured this all out before he was trapped here.

While he might have improved on his technique in that time, it was humbling. It wasn’t just about working hard, or trying to think about how to improve, at the top level with people like the Divine Empress, the Astrologer, and myself we all did that.

But it was a question of how we focused our efforts. Charting new ground, new discoveries. The Astrologer had made huge strides in the manipulation, use, and understanding of skills and their components or modules.

“Thanks, I was curious,” I said.

“I understand. What we will do will require trust. And I don’t mind sharing the outlines of some of the things I have discovered.” The basic things. I was trying to imagine, what he considered complex. “At least you aren’t an idiot and enjoy listening. I can’t stand people who ask stuff like this, but can’t be bothered to listen to the full explanation.”

“Well, that would be stupid. I mean, energy is a new branch of physics, or something. Any luck on working out how it relates to physics?” I asked out of curiosity.

“No. Trying to work things out on a microscopic or atomic scale hasn’t been possible, or a struggle. Even with microscopes, energy is hard to visibly observe unless it manifests physically. But then that gets into the topic of layers and types and how observing energy can have an impact.”

“It is fine, I should probably rest.”

“Yes. Then we can get started first thing when you wake up.” I nodded at this and moved to a corner. I found it easier to sleep in corners compared to just a wall. I closed my eyes. I didn’t know if the Astrologer slept and didn’t pry into how it was to be a statue. That would have been a bit rude.