Aurum - Year 3 {1 Month later }

 

The creature that had "found" me on the plane of spirits no longer seemed to be interested in me, but I gave up trying to tamper with the nature of spirits. Whatever looked at me didn't seem to like the fact that I had messed with the spirit.

That's why I focused entirely on creating the yellow crystals, I could take a crystal fragment and add more layers to it, making it become a real crystal. And with that I now had 2 stones the size of my hand, it wasn't much and its ability to transform the surrounding natural mana into a life magic zone was very bad.

I couldn't help but notice the similarity between the crystal and the spirits, the spirits could do the same thing the crystals were doing, create zones of high density of a specific type of mana, but the crystals seemed infinitely inferior, their cost was higher, they couldn't multiply, they were slower than spirits and they didn't have a mysterious entity protecting them.

The crystals looked like thrift store air fresheners, while the spirits were air fresheners from prestigious stores. I don't know why the hell the mysterious entity didn't like me messing with the spirits, but I wouldn't be risking my skin to find out.

The great advance of the last few months was the greatest advance of recent times, something that would change life in the colony forever.

Mana programming.

My evolution gave me a greater understanding of magic, and allowed me to visualize spells happening, which allowed me to understand more about how spells operated and what to do to make them more 'complex'.

A spell was nothing more than "sewn" mana. When creating a spell you create these "lines" which then must be stitched together to create a specific spell. It was a laborious thing that required a lot of attention, and it was difficult to "tell" each "line" what to do, it was like trying to write a text without a keyboard, or without knowing what letters are. The language of mana was much more based on intentions, desires, and feelings. A "Follow" command should contain the action of following, not the word "follow". Mana didn't understand words, so it needed to "feel" what I wanted to do.

Basically mana was like an otherworldly programming language. The problem was that I was like a pyton amateur trying to write in a totally new and unfamiliar programming language, my knowledge of pyton might give me some directions but the 2 languages are too different for me to apply knowledge of one over the other .

When creating a spell you needed to "program" it from start to finish, like writing computer code from absolute scratch. And that's where the game of the system comes in. The system kind of saved a perfect "template" every time we created a spell from scratch. Creating these super convenient shortcuts.

Without this "help" from the system you would have to "type" the spell from scratch every time you created it. The problem with this was that "programming" spells was not easy at all, it required a lot of concentration, intention and reasoning to make the right connections. So it was impossible to do this in the middle of a fight, and there's more! It took me about 5 minutes to create a basic spell like [Wild Growth] from scratch, so imagine having to create a super powerful and complex spell from absolute scratch while you're in the middle of a fight?

That's why the system "helped" us whenever we created a new spell, it gave us the option of saving that spell in its most perfect and optimized form. The problem with that was that you dumbed people down.

I've been creating spells from scratch to test for weeks, and I find that I'm getting really good at it as time goes by, I can save the step by step in my memory with the help of [Memorial Memory] and the supervision of the archivists. So in the end I just needed to create the "threads" and sew everything together to create a spell.

Another limiter that the system added was the malleability of a spell, when a spell is cast by the system it cannot "change", the [Wild Growth] spell can create different things, but everything is related to its origin with plants.

Now if I made the spell from scratch, I could change its fundamental nature at any moment, and even have the spells transform into other spells along the way.

One day I asked myself what would happen if I added 2 different spell "codes" to a single command, and at first the spell just fell apart and melted. But after some tests I managed to make 2 different spells collaborate and make them become something new. I didn't create a new spell, I just mixed 2 existing spells into something new.

What I created was a spell that mixed [Seed Burst] and [Tainted Touch], this generated a small black seed that had poisonous properties. The seed could grow black roots with purple thorns that would cause poisoning and infections.

Now, if you asked me if the spell was powerful or useful I would say no. Because it is not optimized by the system, its effect was much weaker than traditional spells, and if I simply created a seed with [Seed Bursts] using the system, and then used the [Tainted Touch] spell to make the seed poisonous . I would get a much more powerful and destructive effect, but I would have to spend 2 spell slots, which for the average person may seem stupid, but it wasn't a problem for me.

Creating spells from scratch didn't seem like a hassle, you wasted more time, couldn't get a powerful spell, and even spent more mana. But I still gained mana manipulation experience from this, and another thing I gained from doing this was my greater understanding of magic.

Putting 2 spells together didn't work, but then I started going the other way, which was related to mana inscription.

If I could "program" the magic, it was because I could give it commands, so I didn't need to stick to common system spells, and I tried to do more abstract things, like creating ways to make the mana more stable, and makes it into a living being.

In the first case I even had a little success, and discovered that if I created a command that made the mana more "concentrated" I could create artificial life mana clouds. They were like the clouds that were all over the place, it was just mana concentrated with an affinity. But my clouds were more transparent and only lasted a few hours before completely decaying into ordinary mana.

---

 

"Tell me this worked?"

"I think so, mom.... Everything seems ok, we just need to test it!" Max said.

"Alright, let's go" I was in direct collaboration with Max, with my new spell sewing skills, I started to make some new discoveries, and the biggest one was that I could "enchant" specific crystals.

If I created a [Catalyst Crystal], which was a crystal made from mana crystal powder, artificial catalyst, life essence, and a [Yellow Crystal Fragment], I would gain an inscription-capable crystal!

To be more specific, when I tried to add these "commands" to simple materials, the command dissipated and did not last, but by placing the commands in these catalyst crystals, I created a "code", making it so that every time the crystal was flooded with mana he replicated that code.

It was quite complicated to tell the truth, because just one command wasn't enough to generate a spell, you needed at least a few dozen small codes to give the mana "shape", the problem with that was that the crystals were fragile, and trying to force too many commands into the crystal would cause it to break.

And I also needed to make the commands be executed in the right order, because if all the commands were activated at the same time I would create nothing but a magical formation that eats energy.

To solve this I collaborated with Max, and together we created a sculpted catalyst crystal. This new crystal had dozens of geometric designs inscribed on it, and they were all created with "mana stitching". What I did here was basically create a templaite to "program" a spell.

This template consumed a lot of the crystal's integrity, and made my options even more limited, but without it the codes would be disorganized and chaotic. After that I just had to enchant each section of the crystal with a different command, and to my surprise whenever I placed a specific command in one of the sections of the crystal, a mysterious magical symbol would mysteriously appear in the crystal.

These symbols looked like norse runes, or something from the Klingon alphabet. But when I tried to copy their shapes on paper I couldn't make them "enchanted" like the symbols in the crystal.

At the end of it all we had a small crystal the size of Max's head, full of symbols and mana inscriptions. The crystal took weeks to create, and in theory it should work perfectly.

Pouring my mana into the crystal through a living wood root, I can see the crystal slowly lighting up and soon it started to float in the air, then all the leaves, pieces of wood, crystal fragments and dirt around the crystal started to float togethe  with him very slowly, as if everything were in zero gravity.

"Impressive!!!! The crystal can actually cast the [Levitation] spell on its own, without needing a caster or someone to provide it with intentions!!! This is the next big step for the magic club, if we can learn your enchantment technique we will be able to create countless mana inscriptions!!" Max said excitedly.

"Well... I think you just need to download the information from my mind, ask Emi to send it-"

Before I could finish speaking, the crystal cracked abruptly and I felt an indescribable sense of danger. Acting quickly as I could, I pulled Max behind me and got between him and the crystal.

Within seconds the entire crystal exploded in a violent wave of mana, sending crystal shards flying everywhere and creating a violent sound throughout the hive.

"M-Mom?" Max said, horrified by what he had just happened.

"Are you okay sweetheart?!"

My back had been completely hit by crystal shards, but I was able to use the skill [Crystal Fur] which made the damage almost non-existent, but some parts of my body had still been hit, but it was totally insignificant for me, I could recover. I regenerated quickly and my defense was very high, now, if the explosion had hit little Max directly, he could have ended up in the infirmary in a serious condition.

Soon the lab doors were thrown open by the guards who were standing guard at the door, and when they looked at me with my back bleeding and Max curled up in my arms they immediately called the care club.

"What the hell happened here!?!" Shouted one of the guards.

"T-The mana crystal turned out to be much more unstable and dangerous than initially thought, which generated a large unexpected explosion..." Max said in alarm.

"Mommy!! Are you okay?! Please don't move! The healers and Ken are already arriving." Said one of the royal knights who had just appeared.

"I'm completely fine, the injuries are only superficial, I didn't expect that explosion either, but I'm glad I was here, if I hadn't been here, Max could have been seriously injured."

"T-Thank you for protecting me mom...I'm sorry I didn't realize that flaw...I failed as master of the magic department." Max said, clearly very embarrassed and sad.

"What is this Max, don't blame yourself for this, we had no way of knowing the dangers of something like this, it seemed stable, but in reality it wasn't, the important thing is that we learned from it. You are incredible at your job, without you I would never have thought of creating the "templaite" for the crystal."

"Thank you..." Max said.

Soon the room was flooded with nurses, healers, and a new class called [Caregivers], all members of the care club now had an identifying item, be it a little hat with a yellow cross, a bandana, bracelet, or band to indicate to other members that they can help whenever necessary.

Some also had golden lines on their clothes, which indicated their importance and seniority, members without lines were "Cadets", members with a line were "full members", with 2 were "veterans", 3 were "Veteran Professionals", 4 lines indicated "Sub-Boss" and Ken was the only member of the grooming club with 5 lines, indicating that he was the boss.

Soon I was surrounded by care club members who were very concerned about me, cleaning my wounds, combing my hair, and healing my wounds.

It all ended before Ken even arrived, but when he arrived that still didn't stop him from making a scene.

"But what the hell were you thinking!? Why were only you two here?! What do we have guards and tanks for?! Just to decorate the doors?! I don't want to hear about you doing dangerous experiments without proper protection! You weren't even in glasses or gloves, did you even use any of the safety methods?!" Ken said very irritated.

The care club was one of the most influential clubs in the hive, because.... Well, they were kind of responsible for the security codes, they said what precautions should be taken to prepare food, to fight in the coliseum, to use the washbasins, to use the laundry, they were the safety experts at work. They were mostly strict with the club's research, magic, and development.

These clubs were always dealing with dangerous things, such as poisons, mysterious plants, suspicious liquids and magic. So Ken made everyone wear glasses made from quartz stones found in caves, gloves made by the sewing club, and heavy aprons made from fabric and mushroom leather.

All of this was a pain in the ass, at least in the eyes of the research club, because an accident only happened 1 in 20 times, and it wasn't anything really catastrophic. But if anyone was seen disobeying Ken's orders, they would have a difficult time in the hive, as one of the oldest members and a member of the inner circle, Ken had a lot of influence, and could put members he didn't like on Steve's blacklist, which made people have to obey Ken, one way or another.

When Ken's threats didn't work, he simply ignored these people, until they actually had an accident and ended up in the infirmary, where Ken would do slower and more painful treatment on purpose, to make the disobedient members afraid of hospitals.

Ken was very cute, and handsome. A thin, tall body, with a pure white mane around his neck and appearance that said "I'm super friendly", he started wearing clothes (something that wasn't a custom in the hive), and was currently one of the few members who actually liked clothes, he was wearing a nurse's uniform, pure white with gold details, his clothes had buttons, a collar and honestly looked like a female nurse's uniform. He was wearing a little hat like those of those anime girls who are nurses, and his hat had a small golden cross in the middle and 5 golden lines printed on the 2 sides of the hat.

Ken was very stylish, even when cross-dressing, he had an innocent and cute appearance, and if you didn't know him he would seem shy and calm. But the reality is always so sad, Ken was a real son of a bitch, he used bad words all the time, he shouted at everyone and he was a tyrant in the ward, punishing members who did a mediocre job and giving dry lectures to members who were they hurt in a stupid way.

He liked to delegate his work to his sub-bosses, and most of the time he could be seen beating up his brothers in a board game, card game or something else. He was dishonest and bad character, but still the member who cared the most.

Ken was mean to everyone, even me, but he couldn't hide his feelings from me, I could always tell how worried Ken was whenever the news of "Someone was hurt" reached him. Ken loved taking care of babies, and made a point of personally caring for members who had been seriously injured in battle, but he would never say he cares about you, Ken is a tsundere.

"Look... I didn't have glasses for my size, and I have [Crystal Fur] so it's the same as walking around with a shield, and we were testing the enchantments alone because the other members of the magic club were too busy with parallel projects"

"Humf, if I see someone breaking the safety rules, I'll make their lives hell!" Ken said irritated.

"Never mind, what are you going to do to me? Refuse to cure me?"

"No. I will come and complain directly to you every day 4 times a day for a month." Ken said smugly.

'Now he's got me, I can't take 10 minutes of Ken's complaints, what about a whole month...'

"It's okay, it was an accident, we don't need to exaggerate, I'm fine, Max is fine, everything is fine."

"Hmm, taking advantage of the meeting, I was wondering when you're going to open the nursery again, the new towers are getting empty, and we have plenty of room for new members." Ken said hopefully.

"Well, when we solve the food crisis I think, producing food is very difficult these days."

"Don't even tell me, the farmers are taking it hard, and yet nectar production remains in the red, we have to mix more Wappos, and fruits in the food, and this is already becoming a problem" Ken said frustrated.

"What is happening?"

"We're not designed to eat solid complex foods like fruit and Wappos, small amounts aren't really a problem, but now it's in the range of 30% mixed ingredients, and 70% honey and jam. Which has made more and more members with stomach pains come to the infirmary." Ken said worriedly.

"That's really a problem, but we're already stretching ourselves far as we can, we already have collectors going after wildflowers, and we're expanding the garden into the maze."

"So I think we should go all or nothing, if we produce a large population of new farmers, we can expand the garden even further, then we can spread the large number of soldiers around these regions to keep everyone safe and try to resolve the food issue." Ken said.

"That would require an inner circle meeting, it's too important a decision to make."

"If you want, I'll tag one myself, food is something we can't live without, this must be resolved quickly as possible." Ken said.

Leaving the small group of nurses behind, I go to the remains of my failed experiment and see some workers cleaning up the mess and repairing the damage. If I could create pendulums that emit the [Wild Growth] spell I could solve the food issue once and for all, but for that I would need more time and resources, so now it was a question of which path to follow.

Create more farmers, try to solve the problem with magic, I personally invest my time and mana to produce food, or find another way.

"Alright, call a meeting with the inner circle."

"That's it!" Ken said, then gave a whistle to the group of nurses, who then followed him as if they were a flock of sheep after the shepherd.

'I could use [Create Food] to alleviate our problems, but then I would use all my mana and Sp creating food and have nothing left for spells... But that's a question of what I need, not what I want.... Shit, life as a queen mother isn't easy.'

You can't shout "Let them eat cake!" for your subjects, when those same subjects are also your family.