Chapter 676 - The Containment Protocol

I could probably say more about my time here in the base, but the days are impossible to track without the system's countdown for this beyond quest.

As interesting as the early few days were, the following ones are fairly boring. A few attempts to eject me into outer space, a few poison attempts, man-eating fauna, multiple gilded monsters.

There was even an attempt to cook me alive when I moved through one of the rooms with a glass wall, and the local star appeared in the distance. The replicas somehow turned that glass into a magnifying lens and concentrated the light into a thin beam that melted half my body before I defended against it.

Another fun one was when metal particles shed from the walls of the room I was examining. Over time, I breathed them in without noticing. Then they attempted to solidify inside my body.

Oh, I also cannot forget a few simple, but very effective, traps. The replicas left interesting items scattered all over the place, making them always explode when I tried to examine them, no matter how sure I was they should not do that. Just by using some weird vibrations, frequencies, or radiation, the replicas caused explosions in otherwise normal or even solid-looking items.

But as exotic as these attempts are, they are nearly useless against me.

With one and a half seals on the Ignition Heart lifted and my passive feeding on the generated thermal energy, my body restores itself quickly. My hearts and brain are kept in a barrier at all times, not to mention the other defenses I built to keep them safe.

My body might not be the most durable, but damn, I am a tough bastard to kill.

Plus, there is my “fuck you and this base” card. I just pierce a hole through the entirety of the base with [Empyrean Lance] and then use [Ley Line] to teleport into outer space, from where I break into another room if it becomes too dangerous to stay.

The last elf probably is not happy with having to constantly patch up the holes my lance causes, so damn, I love that thing.

But in the end, even I can see that these attempts on my life are not as serious as they might seem. They serve to gauge my abilities, observe my healing, and study my defenses in preparation for killing me.

The replica I met said as much as it died, having no problem sacrificing itself just to gain more insight. The last elf is not combat-oriented, but he is a very inventive jerk when his replicas are not high enough level to face their target directly.

I think it is a good thing these replicas unlock their memories as they level up, likely as a result of a limitation in his [Replication] skill. If they had all the memories and knowledge from the start, I think with some resources, even one closer to level 200 would be enough to threaten me. Not as oppressively easily as Lissandra could, but still.

Anyway, no one likes that guy. After days here and with around five hours remaining, I glance over my level and stats.

Lvl 333

Strength: 274

Dexterity: 261

Constitution: 466

Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 1705 + 1705

My strength, constitution, and dexterity keep growing, even now, as I carefully use Burden Enhancement Inscriptions and a Restrictive Training Emblem.

Someone would call it madness, but they would be wrong. The stats keep going up, so who are they to disagree?

At last, my mana has broken into the 1700s.

It is a good thing.

With my Reservoir, that is a shitload of mana, but nothing I can’t handle. At this point, my body is a well-oiled machine, running on a ton of mana and questionable optimism.

My skills are also rising nicely, with most of them gaining a level or two, and [Manifestation] hitting its first bottleneck.

Active skills (8/10):

Focus - Lvl 68

Perception - Lvl 66

Redistribution - Lvl 67

Mana Manipulation - Lvl 68

Ley Line - Lvl 59

Eclipse (Pride) - Lvl 42

Empyrean Lance - Lvl 27

Manifestation - Lvl 9

It has been quite a while since I freed up two active skill slots, and they have stayed free thanks to my deliberate choice. I have decided not to experiment too much with getting new skills until I know exactly what I want.

There are some I would prefer gaining, while I am hoping for one that would help me with my mental abilities—splitting minds, thought acceleration, mental exercises I still do even now.

But even without that, the grind never stops. There are already new problems caused by my constructs, so I have to divert more of my attention to fixing what I can and monitoring what I can’t. It is a careful balance of me fixing some stuff, creating new fuckups that I then fix again, and then getting screwed over by things like a stronger active skill making slight changes to my body, stats causing imbalance, or a slightly more released seal on my Ignition Heart.

That kind of stuff. It keeps screwing up the balance. I fix it, and then it screws itself up again just to spite me. A truly neverending cycle, like a snake eating its own tail and pretending it had no other options.

As the hours tick down, I also wonder how the others are faring. Mostly Tacita. As for Io, I think he might be dead already. I just cannot imagine a scenario where he is able to face her. Maybe he could survive if the elf locks him somewhere in a room, but that is probably all the thylarin can do.

There should be that gray man as well, since I did not see him die, but to be honest, I do not care about him that much.

Oh, and Malika, of course. There is a fifty-fifty chance she is either still alive and throwing herself into every fight or dead at the first trap she came across. I still do not know what to think about her.

Dealing with Malika reminds me of my first minion. I hope she is doing well and will not grow up to be like her. As her master and with her as my disciple, I still have that token that lets me communicate with her. I could use it after this quest, once I have sorted out a few things.

I want to poke her tiny, pointy horns.

At least after all this time here, I have this place mostly mapped. A poor part of my mind, I lovingly named Mapthaniel, is currently running at all times with a single target - to keep a mental map of this place alive so I do not have to.

Using kinetic energy, thermal senses, and everything else I could, I mapped out what I could. Now, I head toward its front, where I think I can find the remaining replicas, with all of them likely very well prepared for me. The words that when the last elf shows himself to you, it is usually because he thinks he can kill you, come to my mind. If that does not sound like a clear challenge, I do not know what does.

But as I reach one of the thicker, more important doors, I stop, taking a few steps back.

I check with Mapthaniel again, and there should be a door on my left side, since there is a room there.

But there is no door.

As many times before, I release one and a half seals on my ignition heart, using a laser stream of thermal energy to start melting the surface. I narrow it even further, continuing for fifteen minutes until I feel a change in pressure. Instead of melting rock, the stream suddenly shoots ahead.

Then I stop and send [Ley Line] through the hole, teleporting inside with my defenses ready. I have already fallen into similar traps too many times to not be careful. But this time, there is nothing like that. Instead, there is a dead teleportation array on the ground and a single huge panel on the wall.

My thermal cube floats up and, without me even realizing it, turns into the version that gives off light with sounds similar to a crackling fireplace.

Realizing it, I shake my head and swiftly change the mode to just a normal cube to light up the small room.

The teleportation array is dead even as I examine it. I realize it has been like that for a long time, with pieces missing, likely taken away for materials to be used somewhere else. But the panel is still working even though it has no power at all.

Multiple threads of mana surround me as I start connecting to the surface and to the nodes under the panel. I modify the frequency of mana I send to match the mana crystals placed inside, all with my Mana Wavelength Iris activated. Then I start powering it up.

Right away, there is an attempt to cut off my connection, but I track these attempts through the walls. When I locate the source and the nodes deep inside the pathways leading here, I form a lance, shoot it through the wall, and destroy one. I repeat this three times to destroy three possible access points and cut off the replicas.

Each lance pierces the stone and metal like it is nothing, then shoots out of the asteroid, probably on its way to smack some unsuspecting UFO. I honestly have no idea how far it will travel without any air resistance.

The base obviously starts patching itself up.

Just in case, I move the black halo from over the top of my head and form it into a simple arrow-like projectile. Remembering how the replica stole mana from it, I pour the entirety of mana from my Reservoir into the black projectile, making it more unstable and harder for him to interfere with. The projectile eats it all, as always, without slowing even for a moment.

When it starts reaching toward me for more, I shoot it through the walls toward where I think the replicas are.

Dozens of alarms activate, the base shakes noticeably, thrusters fire, and then cut off as the structure changes direction. It seems I have already caused trouble. I imagine it appearing in the middle of the room, possibly stabbing into one of the control pillars or panels, and multiple replicas starting to run around in panic to get rid of it.

That should entertain them for a while.

Then I return to one of the base protocols I noticed earlier, something called The Fragment Containment Protocol. It includes dozens of sequences that would activate one after another when it is time to use the Pristine Cage I still have in my possession. Just as I suspected, a cage alone is not enough, and the entire base is made from materials that should aid in the process.

I delve deeper to activate some of the sequences manually, but the warning tone rings in my ears. The engines fail me whenever I call on them, and so do the inscriptions etched deep into the evil lair of the pettiest elf in existence.

The following few minutes I spend creating [Empyrean Lance]s and shooting them through the wall toward where I estimate the control center is. I fire enough of them that I have to make myself stop before my mana drops further. The skill consumes a lot, but with the incredible piercing power it has, I am not surprised.

Afterward, I try to get into the system again, only to disappointingly meet the same result, with warnings beeping as I try to activate the sequences.

I check the timer and allow myself a minute to think.

Then I shrug.

It seems I will have to cut the base in half, separating it from the replicas, so I can take over. Even though it will be more dangerous to contain the Fragment, the protocols seem like they will work even with a smaller piece of the base. A half should be enough.

Another lance shoots from me, and I send my mark through the hole to exit into outer space. Then, as the time limit runs down, I move to destroy the engines, push us toward the planet, and set up charges to split the base.

***

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