Chapter 270 - Heart of Winter (part one) (1/2)
”Are you going to be working late Nix?” Cyan had brought a tray with his dinner since he was busy crafting. Her silky black braid hung over one shoulder while she played with the end of it.
Nix had found one of the few crafting rooms that hadn't been repurposed for something else. The massive amount of crafting supplies was still accessible through the bench interface. They weren't set up for Taxidermy since it was an Oasis skill, however, he did find some thermal diffusing fabric, a diamond scalpel, and an ice splinter needle. The fabric could hold or deflect very hot or very cold items. The ice needle infused an element of ice into whatever you were making, it had the benefit of not melting while you used it; the diamond scalpel would increase the quality of his work.
”Thanks for bringing dinner, I'll eat in a bit after I set up a queue.”
Cyan smiled, ”this is going to sound odd, but make an effort to interact with the acolytes while you are here.”
Nix laughed at her words. ”No, that doesn't sound odd at all.”
The dark-haired woman blushed slightly. ”That came out wrong. We're building something strong and like it or not, you are part of that lore.”
Nix held up a hand to stop her. ”I saw the possibilities of what could be done here when the girls needed a place to stay. I'll help however I can.”
Cyan walked toward the exit, pausing at the door. ”Where would you like to sleep tonight?”
”I'll take the couch in my old room if you don't mind the company.”
”Perfect, don't stay up too late Nix.”
Nix waved and began setting up his queue.
The Nether Rat watched from its seat nearby. ”That's not a Nether Rat doll.”
Nix shook his head. ”I don't have enough rat pelts to raise my skill, I'll make something else.”
Raka moved to one side when Nix started stacking pelts in the bin. ”Those are the Ashobel?”
”I did pick up fifty thousand pelts today. The sheer amount of supplies needed to make so many would-be impossible anywhere but here.
[Taxidermy Interface: Create a new Project?]
”Yes, create a new project using the Ashobel.”
[Ashobel]
[Place all tools and components in the queue]
[Ashobel pelt] [Skinning Knife: Diamond Scapel] [Needle: Ice Splinter] [Binding Spool: Ceramic Thread] [Filler: Thermal Diffusing Fabric]
[Queue 50,000 Ashobel Dolls?]
”Yes.” Nix looked at the progress bar and stretched his hands over his head. ”We have a few hours to burn. I thought of something while working.”
Raka looked at the Razir doll that Nix placed on the table. ”It's fine craftsmanship.”
”Right, I'm saying that my Revenants recharge while they aren't in use. If I'm not high enough to produce an Emperor-level doll, you could jump to the Razir.”
”I'm struggling to stay in this form Nix. Soon my Ice Soul will start bleeding out life force until I become a regular Nether Rat.”
”Will it still bleed out when the doll is higher quality?”
”No idea. In a perfect world, the Nether Rat would be an Ice creature.” Raka moved closer, his nose twitching. ”How did you kill the Nether Emperor? There's no way one group should have been able to manage it.”
”We developed a hard-hitting group attack that did most of the damage.”
The Nether Rat stared at him, ”what about his Nether attacks? He hits hard and he can siphon your life to replenish his.”
”An artifact that cancels Nether Spells on contact.” Nix shrugged at the curious rat. Even though he seemed reliable, there was no need to spill the details of the battle.
”Amazing.” Raka dropped the questioning and accepted a bit of food that Nix pushed to one side when he started eating.
”Can you taste things in that doll?”
Raka nodded. ”Taste and smell, although I haven't been hungry.
”I see.” Nix drained the mug that Cyan brought him, apparently, they had a supply of Semmi's Golden Draft.
”Won't this room be filled with Ashobel dolls in a few minutes?”
Nix grinned at the idea. ”That would suck. They will stay in the queue until I pull them out. If I chose to pull out all of them at once, we'd be covered in Ashobel.”