After Eir’s fascinating revelation concerning her newest ritual spell, Thea’s report on her level progress was refreshingly simple. She had gained one level in both her primary and secondary classes, though since they were both even number levels she hadn’t gained any new skills. Having reached twenty-eight in Imperial Soldier and twenty-two in Shieldsworn Guard, Thea had been given four free attribute points to place where she liked. She’d chosen to use all of them on her Resilience stat, boosting it up to forty-three.
“Good choice,” Aila nodded appreciatively. “Your defensive attributes are turning you into a one-woman wall.”
“I want to be, ah, able to p—protect everyone,” Thea said quietly as she shyly glanced between Jay and Aila. “Even from magic.”
“You’ve always got our backs,” Jay smiled lovingly at the quiet woman.
“Hey, that puts you at CLR fifty, doesn’t it?” Syd perked up, catching Thea’s attention. “You’re only ten levels away from being an elite like Kerr!”
“Only you would say ‘only ten levels’ like that,” Kerr shook her head. “For most people, even during a demonic invasion, it would probably take a year or two to get those last ten levels. It’s absolutely nuts that she might get to sixty in the next few months.”
“You’re not complaining, are you?” Dys tilted her head to one side as she looked at the archer.
“Not even a little,” Kerr said immediately. “Just pointing out the tree the bird sits on.”
Jadis couldn’t help but wonder what kind of class Thea would be offered. The trend seemed clear, she would more than likely be offered a powerful, if lewd, class influenced by Jadis’ own sexual class. The question for Jadis was, would it be something similar to Kerr’s? Thea had been with Jadis just as long as Kerr. She was a stalwart companion, had been with her through thick and thin, and was loyal to a fault. Thea was a passionate lover, too, happily joining Jadis in bed for the pleasure, not just the stats. But did all of that mean that she would be offered a bonded class, the same as Kerr had? The same as Jadis fully expected Aila would be?
Did Jadis want to be bonded with Thea?
When the thought crossed her mind, Jadis couldn’t imagine a life without Thea in it. As quiet as the woman was, she was just as integral a part of Jadis’ relationship as Aila was, or Kerr, or Eir for that matter. She’d never discussed anything like it with Thea, but Jadis knew the cute brunette felt strongly for her, too. Aila had apparently expected Jadis’ companions to cross over from the realm of sexual companions to emotionally invested partners, which was why she had been so accepting of Kerr. In fact, she had told her that she’d expected Eir to make a move first. So far, the priestess hadn’t, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t coming. In any case, had Aila also considered the possibility that Thea would want to be a part of their expanding relationship?
Becoming the head of a literal harem was becoming a lot more emotionally taxing than Jadis had ever thought it would, not that she’d spent all that much time contemplating the logistics.
“I reached level twenty-one in Passionate Smith and level four in Enchanter Smith of the Reborn, which is really good considering I’m not a combat class, so me shooting bolts at that big beast wasn’t really doing anything for me, but there was just so much bonus experience flying around that I guess I couldn’t help but level up even with how many people we were sharing it with.”
Jadis had been so lost in thought that she’d almost missed what Sabina was saying. Getting her head together, she focused back onto the topic at hand and paid attention to Sabina’s report.
Innovative Smith Passive Skill. You are more likely to make intuitive leaps of logic while smithing that will result in a successful end product when crafting something new and unique. This skill will not generate new ideas for you, but it will help support the foundations of your experiments. This skill only applies to craftsmanship done by the smithing profession. |
Sabina was thrilled with the new skill Passionate Smith had given her. It wasn’t a guarantee of success for every crazy idea that happened to pop into her head, but it was a definitive boost to the likelihood an invention she came up with would work out. Jadis likened it to a combat prowess skill, similar to the ones she’d been offered. Take a skill like Improvised Weapon Mastery and it would help you do more damage when trying to hit a man over the head with a bottle. That didn’t mean it couldn’t go wrong: you could still miss the attack entirely or the bottle might break in your hand and cut your fingers up, but the extra damage was still there to help you along. Innovative smith seemed to be doing much the same, in a more theoretical way.
The skill made Jadis wonder if maybe she should suggest a few more “Nephilim Technology” ideas to the smith. Jadis didn’t really have much practical knowledge when it came to things like car engines or fixed-wing flight, but if she gave Sabina a few pointers in the right direction, would her natural smarts and her system-enhanced skill make up for the deficiency in knowledge?
The possibilities were definitely tempting.
Since her enchanter class had gone up two levels, that means Sabina had gotten one extra free point from level four. She’d chosen to put that point into Vitality to bring her health up by another ten points. As a smith and craftswoman, Sabina was never meant to be anywhere near the front lines, but considering where she was and everything their company had been through so far, Jadis couldn’t blame the woman for wanting to give herself a little extra protection against catastrophic injury. She wasn’t the one with a failsafe ritual to keep her alive, after all.
The level three skill Sabina had gained was good as well, though nothing that stood out.
Materials Miser I Passive Skill. Provides a minor boost to the likelihood your materials won’t be damaged or destroyed when you fail to craft a working enchantment. |
The skill was practical and certainly useful in Sabina’s day-to-day activities, but it sure wasn’t comparable to Eir’s Protection of the D or Kerr’s Colossus Slayer. Not at face value, anyway. Jadis knew that the real value came from the enchantments Sabina was going to be able to craft because of the skill. Less material loss meant more experiments, which meant greater odds that Sabina would come up with new and useful enchantments. Jadis was definitely looking forward to seeing what the smith would come up with next.
After she finished making the orgasm denial collars, of course.
Bridget had received the most levels out of them all. One level in her primary class and three levels in secondary for a total of four levels. Only one of those levels had been an even number, giving her a single free attribute point that she had placed into Endurance to bring the stat up to a pleasing fifteen points. The rest of her levels had granted her skills, ranging from useful to utterly amazing.
Ardent Light’s Resolve Passive Skill. Increases the Endurance and Vitality attributes by 5 points. |
“I have a skill that’s pretty much identical to that,” Jay commented after Bridget had recited the description. “Only mine says ‘Mirror Knight’ instead of ‘Ardent Light’. Otherwise, the effects are the same.”
“Not unusual,” Aila nodded as she wrote down a few notes. “It’s common for different classes to share templates for skills, both passive and active. With direct attribute boosting skills like that one, you’ll find that many classes share the same name and effect.”
“Well, maybe not many of that one,” Kerr pointed out. “That’s a really good boost for a low-level passive. Was that your level three skill?”
“Ah, no,” Bridget shook her head. “That was my level five skill for Ardent Light. My level three skill was a lot better. I mean, bloody bells, it’s way, way better than I thought I’d ever get.”
Light the Target Up Active Spell. Strike a target with your weapon, causing them to burn with a bright arcane light. For the duration of the spell the target will take increased damage from all attacks equal to 0.5 of the base damage of the attack. Cost – 50 magic. Duration – 5 seconds. |
“Now that’s a fucking skill,” Kerr nodded in approval.
“E—extremely useful,” Thea agreed, smiling at Bridget.
“Doesn’t give much time to act on it, does it?” Dys mused, fingers running through her hair. “Though five seconds is a long time when you’re in a fight.”
“More than enough time for me to cast a force bolt,” Aila said with confidence. “Or for Kerr to put an arrow or two in a demon. If you were standing near to her, I’m sure all three of your bodies could hit Bridget’s target multiple times in a few seconds.”
Aila’s assessment was absolutely true in Jadis’ opinion. So long as she was near enough to take advantage of Bridget’s spell, she could dish out a huge amount of damage in five seconds. Multiplying that damage by fifty percent would have a devastating impact on the unfortunate soul that had attracted Jadis’ ire.
“Definitely an awesome skill,” Jay said, giving Bridget a thumbs-up. “Wished we’d had it while we were fighting that greater demon earlier. Probably would have killed it in half the time.”
“Maybe,” Bridget looked down, biting her lip. “Thank you, though. I never would have gotten a skill like this before joining Fortune’s Favored. So, yeah. Thank you.”
“You are very, very welcome,” Jay grinned, meaning the words with utmost sincerity. “Now don’t leave us hanging. What’s the last skill? The one you got for your landsknecht class?”
“Oh, right,” Bridget looked startled. “Almost forgot! And it’s also something I have to thank you for. I mean, maybe could have gotten a skill like this eventually, but I’m pretty sure the only reason I got it so early is because you boosted my Arcane score so high.”
Landsknecht’s Arcane Flame Passive Skill. Your fire-based spells now burn with an arcane light. Fire damage dealt is increased by 0.2 of the Arcane attribute. Your fire-based spells now deal additional non-elemental force magic damage equal to 0.2 of the Arcane attribute. |
“Now that is just a straight improvement to your combat ability overall,” Syd said, her smile wide as she gave Bridget a bump with her knuckles. “And it’s a passive skill? You don’t even have to spend extra magic for the effect to work!”
Everyone around the bonfire agreed, voicing their admiration for Bridget’s upgrades. She’d come a long way in a short amount of time, her somewhat hamstrung class having transformed into something that could dole out some real damage. Jadis grinned to see the pride shining in her orc friend.
“I believe the description said your spells will burn with an arcane light,” Eir commented as the praise died down. “Have you tested a spell yet? I’m curious to see if there will be a visual difference.”
Bridget had not yet tested any spells. Since they were all now curious, Bridget retrieved her flail and set it in the ground before her. With a faint look of concentration, she channeled her Light the Lantern spell through the weapon.
A dark blue flame burst into being from the metal lantern head. The light it gave off was unearthly, casting strange shadows as it mixed with the light of the fading sun and the bonfire. The effect was beautiful, mesmerizing even, though it also gave off a sense of danger. Jadis could feel the heat radiating from the flame, though it was mixed with something else, a prickling sensation that seemed to stroke a nerve in Jadis’ body that she barely knew existed.
“Arcane flame,” Eir murmured appreciatively. “Truly stunning. You have turned fire into a work of art.”
“Okay, come on now,” Bridget blushed before snuffing out the flame and taking a seat. “Don’t get all poetic on me.”
Eir giggled as Bridget looked away bashfully. The others laughed as well, a good feeling suffusing their small gathering. With her eyes twinkling, Aila turned to Jay and gave her a knowing look.
“Now we come to you. We all know you leveled. The fact is obvious, the proof is evident on our own status sheets. Time to reveal your newest marvels.”
“Fair enough,” Jay said lightly with a crooked smile. “I gained two levels, one for each class. I’m officially level thirty in Mirror Knight. I don’t think I need to tell you all that I immediately put the two points I got from that level in my Eldritch stat.”
“Of course,” Aila nodded.
“Ritualist, though, that hit level twenty-three. I don’t think it’s quite as flashy as some of your new skills and, sorry girls, it’s not a sexy ritual. I know you’re all disappointed to hear that. But it is a pretty nice boost, I think.”
D's Madness Passive Skill. Increases the Eldritch attribute by 20 points. |
Bridget let out a low whistle while Kerr slapped her knees in excitement.
“I knew there had to be a big boost since my own Eldritch went up so much,” Sabina chirped happily, “but it’s still startling to hear such a large boost from a skill like that.”
“It’s much like Eir’s Lyssandria’s Fervor,” Aila commented as she scribbled in her notes. “Double the number of points, though. The name is suitable. That is absolute madness for a simple level twenty-three attribute skill.”
It was. Jadis couldn’t deny it. There were no conditions that needed to be met, no rituals that had to be performed. Just a straight twenty-point boost to her most important attribute. The only similar skill that Jadis could think of that was better was her Mirror Knight’s Might. Maybe it wasn’t as cool as some new special attack like Kerr and Bridget, nor was it a new perverted ritual to give her an excuse to do lewd things with her lovers, but it was a solid upgrade to not only her stats but the stats of all of her companions. Jadis would never complain about that.
“May I ask what the other option was?” Eir looked up at Jay with a gentle smile. “Something similar, perhaps?”
“Yes, of course,” Jay nodded. “It was a skill called D’s Gamble. It would have had a chance of boosting a stat of my choice by fifty points.”
“Fifty points!?” Kerr yelped.
“You’re joking!” Aila stared at Jay, eyes wide with shock.
“No, that’s what it said,” Jay shook her head. “Key word: Chance. At the start of every day, I’d have a nine out of ten chance of boosting a chosen attribute by fifty. However! There was a one out of ten possibility it would decrease my chosen attribute by fifty points.”
“Oh,” Aila sat back, blinking. After a moment, her freckled nose wrinkled in distaste. “That’s… far less appealing.”
“Extremely, ah risky,” Thea frowned. “I w—would not like to take that gamble.”
“Me either,” Syd agreed. “I’m not averse to risks, I think you all know that about me. That skill, though, could utterly cripple me for a whole day depending on which stat was drained. And if I tried to use it on my Eldritch stat and it went wrong, it would hurt all of you, too. So, no thank you.”
No one argued against Jadis’ reasoning. Some risks were necessary, but others just weren’t worth it.
“What do your total stats look like now?” Bridget asked, curiosity written on her face.
“I think I can answer that,” Aila said before Jadis could answer. “Along with all of our status changes, I think.”
With that, Aila shared her notes with the group, going over the attribute changes she had calculated for everyone.
Jadis Ahlstrom Race: Nephilim Primary Class: Mirror Knight (30) Secondary Class: Perverted Ritualist of D (23) Tertiary Class: None Combined Level Rating: 53 |
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Health: 1180/1180 |
Magic: 310/310 |
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Attributes |
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Strength: 190 Dexterity: 48 Agility: 190 Vitality: 88 Fortitude: 58 Endurance: 60 |
Arcane: 0 Divine: 0 Eldritch: 190 Focus: 1 Resilience: 30 Will: 5 |
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Aila of Red Tree Race: Human Primary Class: Cart Driver (25) Secondary Class: Nephilim Powered Arcanist (20) Tertiary Class: None Combined Level Rating: 45 |
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Health: 120/120 |
Magic: 500/500 |
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Attributes |
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Strength: 10 Dexterity: 15 Agility: 20 Vitality: 12 Fortitude: 15 Endurance: 15 |
Arcane: 143 Divine: 0 Eldritch: 0 Focus: 35 Resilience: 5 Will: 10 |
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Eir Aedraheill Race: Elf Primary Class: Beloved Cleric of Lyssandria (23) Secondary Class: Lustful Oracle of D (8) Tertiary Class: None Combined Level Rating: 31 |
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Health: 100/100 |
Magic: 360/360 |
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Attributes |
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Strength: 8 Dexterity: 12 Agility: 10 Vitality: 10 Fortitude: 8 Endurance: 10 |
Arcane: 0 Divine: 151 Eldritch: 0 Focus: 36 Resilience: 10 Will: 21 |
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Kerr of Clan Nox Race: Therion Primary Class: Nox Archer (33) Secondary Class: Far Wilds Traveler (28) Tertiary Class: Slut Sniper (1) Combined Level Rating: 62 |
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Health: 150/150 |
Magic: 0/0 |
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Attributes |
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Strength: 110 Dexterity: 69 Agility: 24 Vitality: 15 Fortitude: 15 Endurance: 24 |
Arcane: 0 Divine: 0 Eldritch: 0 Focus: 0 Resilience: 13 Will: 0 |
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Thea of Cold Brook Race: Human Primary Class: Imperial Soldier (28) Secondary Class: Shieldsworn Guard (22) Tertiary Class: None Combined Level Rating: 50 |
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Health: 250/250 |
Magic: 0/0 |
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Attributes |
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Strength: 25 Dexterity: 10 Agility: 12 Vitality: 25 Fortitude: 121 Endurance: 27 |
Arcane: 0 Divine: 0 Eldritch: 0 Focus: 0 Resilience: 43 Will: 0 |
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Sabina Sarto Race: Human / Elf Hybrid Primary Class: Passionate Smith (21) Secondary Class: Enchanter Smith of the Reborn (4) Tertiary Class: None Combined Level Rating: 25 |
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Health: 140/140 |
Magic: 120/120 |
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Attributes |
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Strength: 20 Dexterity: 15 Agility: 15 Vitality: 14 Fortitude: 10 Endurance: 30 |
Arcane: 0 Divine: 0 Eldritch: 95 Focus: 12 Resilience: 5 Will: 20 |
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Bridget of Clan Warsong Race: Orc Primary Class: Lantern Light Landsknecht (21) Secondary Class: Ardent Light of the Reborn (5) Tertiary Class: None Combined Level Rating: 26 |
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Health: 250/250 |
Magic: 200/200 |
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Attributes |
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Strength: 37 Dexterity: 7 Agility: 13 Vitality: 25 Fortitude: 10 Endurance: 20 |
Arcane: 124 Divine: 0 Eldritch: 0 Focus: 20 Resilience: 10 Will: 21 |
|
“You’re all looking so strong!” Sabina praised everyone as she read over the notes. “It’s no wonder those awful demons didn’t stand a chance earlier, not with how powerful you all are now! I mean, you weren’t this strong a few hours ago, but you were still amazing back then and you’re even more amazing now so any demons we run into next are going to regret it!”
“Alright, alright,” Kerr chuckled as she took the book away from the excited half-elf. “Enough self-congratulations. It’s just masturbation after a certain point. I can hear the soldiers coming back, anyway. We should get ready to take our turn in the pond.”
“True,” Aila said as Kerr passed her the notebook. “The sun is going to set very soon. We should clean up as quickly as we can.”
“Trust me, I won’t be lingering,” Bridget said as she stood and stretched. “That water is going to be frigid as a grave digger’s left buttock.”
Jadis sighed heavily at the thought. Her lovers might be able to rush through washing up, but the smell still coming from her armor and skin told her she was going to have a protracted stay in the cold waters.
D damn it all, she missed hot baths.
"It's much like Eir's Lyssandria's Fervor," Aila commented as she scribbled in her notes. "Double the number of points, though. The name is suitable. That is absolute madness for a simple level twenty-three attribute skill."
"I think I can answer that," Aila said before Jadis could answer. "Along with all of our status changes, I think."
With that, Aila shared her notes with the group, going over the attribute changes she had calculated for everyone.
Something important have to be address now that Aila has been confirmed writing every member stats down.
Security.
If this Intel fall on the wrong hands say like a political opponents of Jadis, things would be dangerous to say the least.
If the fact that they held meeting to tell each other their own stat got out there — which has been a repeating thing for this group, so higher chances of people finding out as time goes on — some malicious people would start look for things like the notes Aila take.
I suggest Jadis either buy or requested Sabina to make a safe and a dummie safe for this endevor or just burn them every time the meeting ends, what you guys think?
If left alone for too long, people that have a [Steal] (Like konosuba's Kazuma skill) or any spying class skill would be dangerous to be around.
That is actually an excellent concern. Could also have Aila invest in an enchanted diary that can't be read cept by the owner and/or authorized, trusted individuals.
@Maddhawk Aila could also start writing in code to delay any security risk.
Or a simpler choice. Burn the notes, they can write them down to show each other each time they need to. It’s not like anything in those notes can’t be found in a persons status later. Maybe the stat multipliers and how they interact is worth recording but by large majority of the notes is likely easy knowledge that is risky to have exist in any format, protected or not.
Having any record that implies Jadis is three people for example is dangerous. Maybe it’s inevitable that at some point it’ll be discovered but no one needs to know she ‘might’ die should her duplicates be separated.
@Thecrystalsands I just wondering if the Skills are also recorded, if so then it doubled the amount of dangerous counter measure the Intel can provide.
At any rate just having a discussion on a open field without a skill based protection is a security risk in it of itself.
@BINd47 true but that is an aceeprable risk, especially in the middle of nowhere
@Thecrystalsands True just recording it as the sisters stat sheet would be better, especially if you add some false information like replacing mirror knight with synchronized knight might be better
@Thecrystalsands Is your name a reference to the adventurer guild in Ul'dah in FFXIV?
@Maddhawk Uh no, sorry I barely even recognize the game you just said. It's based on a world theme idea I had where the environment is quite literally a desert where the sand is instead very sharp, very painful crystals, and heaven forbid your in it's equivalent of a sandstorm.
@Thecrystalsands Technically, that is what sand is. Very sharp, very small crystals. That said, there are indeed worse kinds of sand, like pure silica sand instead of the silicon dioxide of the sterotypical sand.
@Maddhawk Huh, interesting, if I ever want to make a story of it I clearly need to research more into that. The whole idea was that the crystalline sand would be quite literal agony to touch without some form of protection and how people in that location would need to adapt in traversing it. Particularly in redesigning vehicles as well since the sandstorms would be able to strip even metal away.
@Thecrystalsands Sounds like an interesting concept.
@Thecrystalsands Then you want something even smaller than sand, like loose fiber glass size. Sand isn't so much as a particular material as it is the size of the material. Many things can be sand if they are reduced to a certain size range. Abestos is dangerous for that very reason. Its fibers, like fiber glass, are sufficiently small they can get into the pores of the skin. Abestos has some additional qualities that make it even more dangerous though.
Volcanic ash can be potentially dangerous for the same reasons. From what I could see, most of the time, any dangerous affects are short lived. I guess it would depend upon the density of the cloud and how fast you can get out of it as for how dangerous it would be.
This is an intresting concersation to follow.
If you want to use sand as a truly fearful hazard, then there are two ways to really go about it. The first is very powerful winds whipping up a sandstorm. This is the what we do, intentionally, when we build smaller enclosures for sand blasting metal. The sand then becomes an airborne sandpaper/file and very rapidly erodes exposed surfaces.
The other great danger for sand is that it is loose and not particularly compact. Thus, when adding additional factors like water or ground vibrations, sand becomes quicksand and things that step onto it rapidly begin to sink and become trapped.
This also makes building things on top of sand very very difficult. Like the ancient saw:
Make sure you build your house upon a foundation of granite, for a house built upon sand will surely collapse.
There are ways to build strong foundations upon sand though. They are called "friction foundations". They are composed of a large number of pilings placed into the sandy soil, going deep. Then across the top of all the concrete pilings you build your foundation for your structure. The weight of your structure is then born by the extreme friction generated between the pilings and the sand by the enormous surface area of all the pilings.
Mythbusters Phonebook Friction Myth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOt-D_ee-JE
Result: True
The sheer amount of friction from the interleaved pages of the two phonebooks was so strong that two 8 ton tanks pulling on them, with chains hooked up to think steel plates clamped and bolted to the spines of the books, that the spines of the books failed before the pages let go. The force measuring device reached several tons of pressure pulling on them before the spines failed.
Same principle, but in reverse to hold up large buildings built upon sand. This is how the foundation of the Burj Khalifa is made.
Foundation
The superstructure is supported by a large reinforced concrete mat, which is in turn supported by bored reinforced concrete piles. The design was based on extensive geotechnical and seismic studies. The mat is 3.7 metres thick and was constructed in four separate pours totaling 12,500 cubic meters of concrete. The 1.5-metre diameter x 43 meter long piles represent the largest and longest piles conventionally available in the region. A high density, low permeability concrete was used in the foundations, as well as a cathodic protection system under the mat, to minimize any detrimental effects from corrosive chemicals in local groundwater.
https://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/the-tower/structures/
Here is a white paper from the University of Missouri School of Science and Technology on the foundation of the Burj Khalifa, built upon sand: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3303&context=icchge