the first place I should go is to the red moss farm. Knowing whether I will be able to use the new material or not in time will allow me to see what ideas are practical. I grab one of the stockpiled bowl mosses and leave my heart room to walk down the tunnel. When I arrived I'm pleasantly surprised, there is actual visible growth! Most of the clumps of moss have increased in size by half. If they continue to grow this quickly I should be able to get a decent supply going in no time. Part of me wants to use the new growth to expand the farm further through the tunnel. If it's anything like the fungus I used to forage it won't damage the main body and just cause it to create more shoots. that's thinking long term though whereas I really do need some short term power right now. As for the bowl moss, although I see some growth I'm not worried about harvesting it now. we still have the stockpile of them left from gathering in the expanse.
At this moment in time, I can't think of many ways to make traps. On the other hand, I've realised a few flaws in my thinking about tools and my defenders. I would not call myself imaginative and they always say people like to create in their own image. I split up my tools and defender thinking that making my defenders multipurpose would help me in the long run. However, I've realised I don't have the knowledge or materials at my disposal right now to make such a method work well. My design for defenders currently is a body to house the core and 2 arms to hold tools. I never questioned whether my reliance on their ability to float may impede the strength they can exert or if the weight does the same. You also have the fact that I shouldn’t restrict myself to elven proportions and limb count. Would one large arm or 4 long arms do the job better? Maybe just making an incredibly thick and heavy ball to surround the core would allow me to... That could work as a trap! That's something to try later.
I need to do some experiments before I decide on my next action to take. First off, floating. let's figure out my base strength so I have something to compare to. I walk back towards where my bowl moss farm starts and find a bare wall. I then get in position, pull back my sickle knife and swing it at the wall with all the strength I have. My strike connects and the small outcropping of stone crumbles with a large crack and a cloud of dust. I freeze and stare at the spot unable to come up with words to describe what just happened. Why am I so much stronger? I want to ask Oberon why that is even though I want to refrain from distracting him. then, I realise why. It's the rank increase. Is it because it was my first one that the difference was so pronounced? I know the higher in rank you are the stronger you are in every way but the gap isn’t that big between each rank.
Focus Elysia, that's not what matters right now. It's time to see if I can turn off my ability to float. I quickly sit down so I don't fall to the floor. I have been floating all this time unconsciously and now that it comes down to it, I have absolutely no idea how I can stop it. It must be thought surely. it's not like I have muscles. Mists, I don't even have joints at the moment. I close my eyes and will myself to stop floating, when I feel like I have the image in my head I try to get up. I start to float again. Maybe if I think of myself as being heavier? I try again and to my surprise, it works. Next, I position myself to face the wall and then from my sitting position I bring my sickle up high — and slam it into the wall with all my strength. The sound is deafening and the dust much greater than the hit from before. Once the ringing of my body stops I can finally take in the results. Floating definitely reduces the power of my strikes. The difference in power is clear to see by how much more damage I managed to do.
The next thing I want to test is something that is can't believe I hadn’t thought of before. my tools are just defenders in a different shape. Can my tools float? It's simple to test. I place my sickle knife onto the floor and will it to float. Within moments it does so further confirming one of my suspicions, I'm limiting myself with my own mindset.
The final experiment I want to try is a large defender vs a small one. does the size difference have any effect on their strength? I call over one of my first defender types from where Oberon is and send it to my heart as I too, make my way there. Once I arrive I then use the stone stockpiled here to create a half-sized version of the stone defender that arrived. It whirls to life and floats at the same height as its larger twin. from just initial impressions I can see that the smaller defender is a lot more... energetic? the larger defender floats at a constant height but the smaller one bobs up and down like it has too much energy. time to do the more repetitive tests.
Through a process of getting them to do a variety of things including mining, racing and other miscellaneous tasks I find that the small defender is overall better for speed and tasks that require finer control. the larger defender on the other hand has the weight to be able to use its strength more efficiently.
now that I have this new information, I think it's best to design a defender that can help with my current problem. the beetles are still swarming the entrance and I can feel the mana coming in from Oberon thinning their numbers but more needs to be done. I need a defender that is specialised in picking them off. due to the brown mushrooms being my only thing keeping them away right now, I think something with long reach would be best. something with the ability to crush and take out multiple would be good but I don't know how that will affect the tunnel. I don't want to cause a cave-in as it stops us from killing them while it's still possible. spear it is. finally, this defender needs a heavy foundation to maximise its strength and stop it from falling over. it would be nice for it to be able to move on its own but not necessary. with this in mind, I get to work.
So as to not disturb my defenders at the expanse entrance, I make use of what I have here. I order my small defender to go to the red moss farm and harvest enough to fill the bowl moss that I give to the larger one. while they do that: I grab another moss, sit down, turn off my floating and slowly begin to crush some of the stone into a fine powder in the bowl.
within 10 minutes my two defenders come back with a bowl filled to the brim with the red moss. I task the larger one with grinding stone, just in case I need more. the smaller one I leave idle for now. I take the bowl with red moss and begin the process of crushing it into a paste. slowly. I add the stone powder to make the dough and then sprinkle the powder onto the flat floor in order to stop the dough from sticking. I shape the dough to form a long tooth-shaped blade along with 2 long cylinders to make the arm. for the base, I use the bowl moss to house the core and use the excess dough on the outside of the bowl to reinforce it. in the end, I've decided not to give it legs as my defender can float and worst comes to worst I can get my other defenders to carry it to where it is needed. instead, I attach a wide base to the bottom made from stone.
while the parts for that defender are drying I order the 2 defenders to go back and harvest more of the moss to fill up a second bowl. we repeat the whole process two more times to give me 3 of these new defenders in total. by the time we have finished the first one was now ready to animate. I call upon my skill and focus as much as I can on just how exactly I want the defender's movements and joints to work. Eventually, the core forms and pulls the pieces together. the spear-like head raises up ready to strike out and then stays in that position. as expected due to the weight of the base the defender is not able to move very quickly. I call the stone defenders waiting around by Oberon to come and collect our new addition.
"Elysia, What is going on? why are all the stone defenders going back."
"I have a new defender that needs help getting to you. It's time to see if it was worth the work."
I look toward the other parts on the floor that still aren't dry. ill leave them until after this trial. if it doesn't work out, I can always use them for something else.
