Chapter 129 Transform and roll ou (1/2)
After digging our narrow channel to the farm tunnel I get Tiny to place two large stones to act as the dam before we dig out the last of the soil and the water begins to flow. I notice a few branchies have poked their heads out of their trees, watching our activities. I think perhaps they may worried about us interfering with the pond.
I try to give a rea.s.suring wave of my antennae but I'm not sure that will be enough to allay their fears. I guess we can only show that we mean no harm by executing the plan and letting them see how harmless it is.
Workers have started coming over to the pond in the last few days in order to drink the mana water. With the farm nearby it isn't surprising that the scouts have managed to forage their way over here. Naturally once one ant finds something good the rest will soon know about it. I was a little concerned that there might be conflict but for the most part the ants have simply ignored any branchie they've found, probably not seeing much, if any Bioma.s.s in them.
I'm quite excited though. This will help more workers form their cores which will in turn cause them to grow even stronger when they evolve.
When everything is in place Tiny picks up our damming rock and the mana infused water flows down our channel before eventually falling into our pre-dug basin within the farm. After a minute or so Tiny drops the rock back into position with a splash and the water ceases to flow.
The branchies, who had seemed a little alarmed when the water was flowing out of their pond, relax and move back towards their trees, quickly melding out of sight.
I head straight over to the farm to see how the monsters within have reacted. Sure enough, those who have just sp.a.w.ned are immediately attracted to the water source. No water truce to be seen here though. They rabidly fight over it, shovelling the water into their mouths as quickly as they can.
I retreat back up the tunnel. I'll lead the workers down to collect the Bioma.s.s later, hopefully we will have a core or two to show for our efforts.
With this job done it is time to turn my attention back to my new skill and its applications. After maxing out Mana Shaping I gained Mana Transformation, the much antic.i.p.ated and eagerly awaited skill!
After reading the description and then slowly digesting the dump truck of knowledge and instincts the skill dropped in my brain I've been gradually building an understanding of it.
This skill will finally allow me to change the raw mana stored in my core into other, useful types, without relying on the short cut of having an organ do the job for me. Only issue is, changing the mana into a specific type is painfully complicated!
I'm still nibbling at the edges of what was placed in my brain. This skill was by far the biggest information overload I've had from a single purchase.
If I were to use a metaphor, transforming mana into a specific type is like learning an instrument that is so intricate that it requires the use of both hands, both feet and your face to play it. From what I understand so far you need to be s.h.i.+fting the mana in complex patters through multiple dimensions in order for it to change!
Dimensions!
It only gets worse though. If you manage to master that obscenely complex instrument well enough that you can efficiently transform the mana into the required type and THEN use that mana to shape and fuel a spell, that is only for one type.
If you want to transform your mana into another type, there is an entirely new fiendish instrument to learn and this one requires you to play it with your b.u.t.t cheeks as well!
Not to mention, I've only been looking at the techniques required for relatively simple mana forms, like water or fire. When I tried to think about what I would need to do for s.p.a.ce magic I nearly pa.s.sed out just thinking about it.
This only reinforces my confidence that the gravity magic organ was a good choice. Not only is the complicated process of transformation handled for me, it is done well before any spell casting takes place. This also goes a long way to explaining why the magic organs are priced so highly. Getting a free choice just goes to show how potent the special evolutions really are!
This all leads to the unfortunate reality of what I have to do next. To my mind it is quite obvious what I have to focus my transformation learning on, mind magic! I need to be able to communicate just like Formo and the Sophos do! This will bridge the final hurdle in being able to universally speak to anything that I can come across if I'm able to pa.s.s my intentions on directly from mind to mind!
Only problem is that mind magic is a fiendishly complex transformation. At least three or four times harder than doing something like fire.
But it must be done! I have my gravity magic and a reasonably powerful physical body already, at least, powerful enough for the time being. Once I've achieved mastery of mind magic I'll be able to focus my efforts unilaterally on pumping up my firepower!
The other thing I need to do is spend some time on manipulating my cores and grinding levels in Core Engineering. An ants work is never done!
I'm excited though. Even if I'm not gaining levels, my strength is improving and I'm able to spend time on critical skills that I wasn't able to before. This will prepare me for the time Tiny and I descend into the Dungeon once more to fight!
We return to the nest, my impatient pa.s.senger included, and I spend time laboriously s.h.i.+fting values in my cores until I cannot force further changes before tossing them to Tiny to absorb.
He's finally learned enough that I don't have to beat his head in before he realises what he needs to do. Progress! After I've finished with one core and slump forward with mental exhaustion the little hatchling on my head excitedly leaps forward to touch the core with her antennae. With a brief flash and a pop the core vanishes into thin air!