Chapter 11
A few months had passed since I returned to the village, and things couldn't be better. The village had grown exponentially, and the school and hospital I had planned to build were already up and running. I had used some of the paper I bought in Ingrasia to recreate the books I had copied from the Ingrasia library using the Librarian and now many of the Dark Elves were studying and learning trades.
Dorian had worked night and day, but he had managed to get the thirty Dark Elves that were part of the Village Guard to be equipped with Special Grade armor and Rare Grade swords, making them Rank B+ creatures.
I had been especially busy these months. First, while everyone else was adjusting to their jobs, I made a little trip to the Chaos Dragon's cave using "Spatial Manipulation". As I had imagined, after a month, the Dragon had regained the magicules that I had taken from it, and it was starting to create monsters again, so I used "Siphon" again to absorb the magicules from the dragon and slow down its monster production for another month. If I could time my visits just right, I could use the dragon as an endless battery of magicules, for a long time.
After recharging my Magicules reserves, I went around the cave and collected all the Magisteel ore I could find and stored it with the "Spatial Storage" spell. When I brought the ore to Dorian, we had a long talk about the Magisteel and its properties. It turns out that this ore was just common steel that had been exposed to a large amount of magicules over a long period of time, and thanks to this it was a great conductor of magic, which is why blacksmiths used it as a core to create weapons and armors with magical abilities. Now that I knew of the magical properties of Magisteel, I commissioned Dorian to do a special job for me. And just today he had finished it, so I left Tuatha's house and headed for his workshop.
"Oh. Welcome, Lord Rogan." – Dorian greeted me when I entered his workshop.
"Hi Dorian. Have you finished the job I gave you?" - I asked.
"Yes, yes. I have it right here." – He told me and guided me to his work table.
On his work table, on a pad, was a metal sphere the size of a slightly oversized marble. But it wasn't just a metal sphere, it was a prosthetic eye made entirely of pure Magisteel!
My idea for this artifact had started one day by examining Tuatha's abilities. It turns out that one of the reasons Clayman wanted these Dark Elves so much was because of Tuatha's Unique Skill "Enchanter", which allowed her to create magical artifacts. Now, this could also be achieved by Engraving Magic, but what made the Unique Skill "Enchanter" so rare, was that in exchange for a ridiculous amount of Magicules, it allowed the user to transfer a skill from a person to an object. This of course had its risks and limitations, for example, once the skill was in the object, it was impossible to recover it, and if the object was destroyed so would the skills it contained, and the person could only use the skill contained in the object if it was in contact with the user's body.
Normally Tuatha didn't have enough magicules to create an artifact with powerful skills, but the skill also worked if someone else donated the magicules. From what Tuatha had told me, Clayman only had enough magicules for her to create low-level magical artifacts, like magical spheres that record images, and the like.
Technically speaking, it would be crazy to put your skills into an object that could be destroyed and lose them, so why would I do it? Because there seemed to be a limit to the number of skills a creature could have.
When I had defeated Katar and obtained the Unique Skill "Grave Robber" the Librarian had warned me that my soul could only accept one more Unique Skill, before collapsing. Apparently, five was the maximum number of Unique Skills that any soul could contain. A simple solution to this would be to simply stop possessing creatures and gaining skills, but doing that wasn't an option as it meant getting stuck when I most needed to become more powerful, so I had to come up with a better way to avoid stress to my soul, while still gaining skills. The answer came to me after speaking with Dorian about the adaptive properties of the Magisteel. If I could create an artifact from a material that was highly conductive to magicules, and powerful enough to hold a Unique Skill without being destroyed, then the stress of possessing the skill would be borne by the artifact, while I would have access to the skill through the connection of the magicules between the object and me.
All this involved a lot of analysis and assessments from the Librarian, but after many hypotheses we reached the experimentation phase. We took a piece of Magisteel and with Tuatha's skill and a bunch of magicules, we transferred one of the skills that I use the least, "Keen Smell". It blended wonderfully! Not only had the skill left my soul, but as long as I was holding the piece of Magisteel, I could continue to use the skill! But we also ran into a little problem… anyone holding the piece of Magisteel could use the skill without any problem, so I had to be careful or someone might end up stealing my prosthetic eye to use my skills!
Due to these risks, I decided that I would only give the eye Common and Extra Skills, and only when I really needed to do so would I give it Unique Skills. Once this was decided, I tasked Dorian with creating the artifact for me. Of course, I wasn't completely egoless, so I told him to also add some details to make it more like an ordinary eye. The result was the eye in front of me. Although the sclera had a metallic silver color, what really stood out was the hexagonal shape of the iris which was made from a small piece of sapphire, cut and polished by Dorian himself. Although I was sure it was the most striking eye in the history of eyes, if it served my purposes, I didn't care what shape it was.
After collecting the eye, I left Dorian with more Magisteel and gave him another project: to make me a new sword. I still had Huges's sword, but it was just an ordinary sword without any magic power. I would keep it as a souvenir from my friend, but I needed a new sword that would give me more attack power.
I left Dorian's workshop, and did my second stop of the day, at Yoshi's workshop. The Kijin had taken his investigative work very seriously and had found herbs and medicinal plants around the village, which he had managed to turn into High Potions which could cure injuries and illnesses.
Once in Yoshi's workshop, we got to work on my project. What I needed from Yoshi was the "Natural Process Acceleration" of his Unique Skill "Alchemist". The Librarian had hypothesized that the Magisteel alone would not be powerful enough to sustain a Unique Skill, but that if the eye was exposed to a high concentration of Magicules over a period of approximately five thousand years, the Magisteel could evolve into a superior mineral, with the properties we needed. Waiting five thousand years was obviously not an option, so the Librarian had suggested using Yoshi's Unique Skill.
The Kijin and I designed a special chamber made of high-density glass, also achieved through Yoshi's Unique Skill, in which we deposited the eye and which I then filled with Magicules. After sealing the chamber tightly, Yoshi proceeded to use his Unique Skill to age the interior of the chamber by five thousand years. The whole process took us a full day and night, and half the magicules I had gotten from the Chaos Dragon, but the results were even better than expected. The Magisteel of the eye had evolved into a super rare metal that the Librarian called "Death Steel", which was a hundred times harder and stronger than ordinary Magisteel, so according to the Librarian, it would be able to hold three Unique Skills without collapsing.
I left Yoshi's workshop, heading towards Tuatha's house to start the last process necessary to complete my artifact. Once we started the process, I gave Tuatha enough Magicules to imbue the eye with a few of my Skills.
Warning.
The individual "Tuatha" will transfer the following skills to the artifact:
All-seeing eye
Sense Heat Source
Night Vision
Magic Sense
Shadow Step
Shadow Motioning
Once the process has finished, it will not be possible to reverse it. Do you want to continue with the process?
Yes
No
Yes!
Once the process began, I began to feel my magicules reserves diminish to an alarming level. About twelve hours later, with the reserve of magicules I had obtained from the Chaos Dragon completely depleted, I obtained my artifact. Just to make sure everything was okay; I had the Librarian analyze it.
Analyzing.
Legendary Grade magic artifact. All functions work perfectly.
Once I verified that it worked, I carefully implanted it in my left eye socket. Then I tried using the skills I had transferred to it and they all seemed to work just as well as before. Just to have one more measure of security, I put the eyepatch back over my left eye, so no one would suspect that I had such a powerful eye in my possession.
After securing my new eye, I decided to pay the Chaos Dragon a second visit and retrieve all the magicules I had invested in the artifact. While I was absorbing magicules, something occurred to me… What would happen if I named my Eye?
Analyzing.
The artifact is made from Death Steel, a bio-mineral. Under these conditions, naming the artifact would be equivalent to naming a living being, greatly increasing the artifact's capabilities.
Hyaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha! I'm a genius! Now my artifact will be even more powerful! Okay, okay. Your name will be… Oculus!
Warning
Naming the artifact will cost magicules. Do you want to use the magicules stored by your Unique Skill "Siphon"?
Yes
No
Yes!
Warning
The Bio-Artifact "Oculus", has met the necessary conditions to evolve.
The Bio-metallic structure will reformulate and evolve into a new alloy.
Checked
Evolution from "Death Steel Magic Bio-Artifact" to "Unobtanium Magic Bio-Artifact" …
Successfully done.
Increasing strength and endurance…
Successfully done.
Artifact's Skills will evolve...
Extra Skill "Magic Sense" will evolve to Unique Skill "Observer"
Extra Skill "Magic Sense" will sacrifice Extra Skill "All-seeing Eye", Extra Skill "Sense Heat Source" and Common Skill "Night Vision" to evolve.
Successfully done.
Extra Skill "Shadow Step" will evolve to Extra Skill "Spatial Motion"
Extra Skill "Shadow Step" will sacrifice Extra Skill "Shadow Motioning" to evolve.
Successfully done.
This ends the evolution.
Wow. Not only had I managed to make the metal of the Oculus evolve into a metal even rarer and more powerful than Death Steel, but also the Skills I had put into the artifact had evolved, and one of them had even evolved into a Unique Skill, proving my theory that the Oculus was strong enough to support one of these. I was a little worried about how many skills it cost to get a Unique Skill through evolution, but the Librarian assured me that the effects of the sacrificed skills were built into the Unique Skill, so it was all good. I immediately checked what my new Unique Skill could do:
Superior Magic Sense: It was an upgraded version of "Magic Sense", which greatly expanded the range of my perception.
Soul Perception: It allowed me to perceive the souls of creatures within my "Superior Magic Sense" range which made it impossible for any creature to hide from my sight, as there was no way to hide a creature's soul through magical methods.
Projection: It allowed me to project all the information obtained through this skill, in the form of images.
This skill was the ultimate weapon against an ambush. Basically, I was now completely aware of everyone and everything that existed within a mile of me. Which meant that I had complete knowledge about everything that was going on in and around the village.
Like a kid with a new toy, I immediately activated the Skill. But this Skill had an unforeseen side effect. There was too much information. I could hear everything from the quill in Tuatha's hand as she wrote in her office, to the shrill clang of the guards' swords as they practiced under the tutelage of Browen and Okimura. My brain couldn't absorb and process that much information, so it punished me with a terrible headache. The salvation of my sanity came from the hands of the Librarian, who suggested that I connect both Unique Skills so that he could handle the excess information. I did it quickly and the pain disappeared.
Now that the Librarian was handling all the information I received through "Observer", I just had to think of what I wanted to see, and the Librarian showed it to me completely painlessly. And so it was that I realized something surprising near the village.
Unicorns!
Through my skill I was able to observe a herd of unicorns grazing near the village. They were all pure and brilliant white, which made them look majestic.
I loved unicorns! Even in my previous world I always wanted to have one! I quickly asked the Librarian for whatever information he had on these creatures.
Analyzing.
Unicorns are highly intelligent magical beasts that can reach B Rank, according to the Free Guild classification. They are highly resilient and loyal, able to travel long distances at high speeds without tiring and to use Recovery Magic.
If they are intelligent creatures, does that mean I can communicate with them through "Thought Communication"?
Analyzing.
I's possible.
Once the Librarian told me this, I teleported near the unicorns using "Spatial Manipulation", but before I could strike up a conversation with them, they beat me to it.
"Hello, powerful one. What does a being like yourself wants with this herd? – I heard in my head.
It seemed they could also use "Thought Communication". The unicorn that spoke seemed to be the leader, and he approached me cautiously.
"My name is Rogan. I'm the leader of the nearby Dark Elf village. I was wondering…would you like to join my village?" – I asked directly.
If the unicorns were as powerful as the Librarian claimed, then they could be a great addition to our village. I could imagine it… the Dark Elves in their ornate Magisteel armor, riding on fierce unicorns, just like in the tales and legends of my old world.
"What would be the benefit of joining you, if I may ask." – answered the unicorn.
"Well… you would have our protection against any creature that threatened you." - I told. "And if you want, I can also give you names."
"Names? I know you are very powerful; I can feel it. But my herd has about fifty unicorns. Do you think you can name us all? – the leader asks me.
"Of course. No problem." - I answered. I was pretty sure I had more than enough magicules to do it. Naming the Oculus had barely made a dent in my stockpile of magicules.
"Very well." – said the unicorn boss, after a few moments. "I have spoken with my herd and they are willing to serve you, Lord Rogan."
"Cool!" – I exclaimed. I finally had my dream unicorn! "Since you are the leader of the herd, you should have a great name…" – I said and began to think. The unicorns had the shape horses, so maybe a powerful and mystical horse… I know! "Your name will be Sleipnir!" – It was the name of the horse of Odin, the king of the gods in Norse mythology.
Warning
Naming the targets will cost magicules. Do you want to use the magicules stored by your Unique Skill "Siphon"?
Yes
No
Yes!
Warning
The subordinate "Sleipnir" have met the necessary conditions to evolve.
The body structure will reformulate and evolve into a new species.
checked
Evolution from "Unicorn" to "Bicorn" …
Successfully done.
Increased all physical skills…
Successfully done.
Relearn all past skills and resistances...
Successfully done.
New Skills and Resistances:
- Extra Skill "Ultraspeed Regeneration"
- Extra Skill "Light Shield"
-Pain Resistance
-Physical Attack Resistance
Successfully obtained.
This ends the evolution.
Ha! Sleipnir had evolved into a Bicorn! Now he had not just one horn, but two!
After naming Sleipnir, I spent the rest of the afternoon naming the rest of the herd. Their names weren't as majestic as Sleipnir's, but they seemed content enough, so it wasn't a problem. When I finished naming them all, they too evolved into Bicorns, firmly establishing themselves as Rank B+ creatures.
For some reason this naming marathon reminded me of a certain slime…