Clonthaniel is skilled, very much so. I watch the way he moves his mana through his body. He uses [Regalia] to create a core exactly in the middle of his chest behind the ribs.

Together we compress it, and it's easy. It's so damn easy. Having someone to spot for me makes it easier to prevent the orb from turning into a shining bomb, ready to explode, or into an orb of black mana, so we can push it further.

He notices this as well, and without saying anything, he scratches the initial plan, and we increase the size of the orb and compress it further.

The sheer amount of mana we manage to compress is enough to evaporate a city block or a small mountain, and we continue even beyond that. Giving our all to make it happen. He relies on me, and I rely on him, and both of us know that if we screw up we will disappear in an awesome and deadly explosion.

Then while I hold the orb stable, he starts working on pathways. He creates connections to his heart, redirects some circuits, and adds new ones. Our biggest inspirations for this construct are Mana Reservoir, the passive allowing me to store three times my mana, Mana Cycling, the technique I learned from the cockroach-like Absolute, and lastly, my experience from creating my Thermokinetic Mana Heart.

So this new one better be juicy.

I let him know that I need help, and he takes a moment to stop inscribing the inside of his body and helps me keep the orb under control. Instead, I extend my senses to examine the work he has done, then I continue where he left off, connecting pathways to the core, surrounding it with dozens of connections to his heart.

Then a new idea forms in my head and I create a tiny orb in his chest and inscribe the idea on that.

My intent comes through, and he looks at the plans inscribed on the tiny orb, before nodding.

I let the orb with plans to dissolve and repurpose that mana to create another web around the orb. This one will do the work of the Mana Overload Absorption passive. In case the orb overloads, it will take some of the excess energy and disperse it through the body preventing it from exploding.

Carefully, we then connect it all to the Regulator. Then we spend almost ten hours going over it all, over and over again. We make some small changes, we add some twists.

We even manage to catch a small mistake that would have blown him away about a minute after activation, by our estimation.

Little things like that.

But what excites me most are all the possibilities. If this all works the way it should, it will open up so many options for the future, and this will be the next tiny step forward.

One mind isn’t enough, so we work together to carefully awaken the construct, and when mana fills all the pathways, I can finally let go. It takes me a minute to calm down, just now realizing how much this took from me.

Clonthaniel then turns around, “Everything’s fine so far.”

“Description?” I ask.

“You will see when you get it.”

“What a dick.”

“Yup.”

“Fuck, I want to punch you,” I tell him.

“Yes, yes,” he stands up and removes two pieces of clean cloth from our pack.

Don't tell me he’s…

He sets two pieces of cloth in front of us and some food off to the side.

“So let's rest before starting on your construct. Will you eat with me, Nathaniel?” Clonthaniel lowers his [Focus], and his face settles into a creepy smile.

I appreciate the lame joke, but somehow that makes me want to punch him even more than if he made the statement without emotion.

Another ten or so hours later, we finish creating my construct, and I let mana flow through until it activates.

A notification pops up.

Congratulations, you have created your fifth Construct. The name will be kept as such and will be shown in the status under active skills and over passive skills. Well done!

Vortex Core (construct)

The Vortex Core is useful for energy conservation, holding swirling Primordial Kinetic and Thermal energies within its confines. It is ready to unleash these forces at the user's will. It remains dormant until needed, ensuring that the user has access to stored energies.

“Is it any good?” I ask Clonthaniel, who is already practicing his inscriptions. He is on a bit of a time limit, so he is extremely motivated.

“Fucking good,” he says simply and then ignores me.

Well, I should have expected something like that. I redirect part of my mana to my Thermokinetic heart and start generating thermal energy. Thermokinetic heart, using the heart as a medium, transforms my mana. Then I can easily store some of that energy in my Vortex Core.

Even now, I think Mana Reservoir is probably my strongest passive. So, what could be better than having something similar for Primordial energies?

The Vortex Core will store them, and the vortex will spin them inside me, compressing them somewhat. The spinning itself works like Mana Cycling allowing me to store more or keep it from leaking. With a few upgrades, it could be possible to make the vortex more prominent, allowing me to compress them more or combine the two.

Later, I may even be able to add a storage for mana. I could even do it now, but I rarely use all of my mana, so larger quantities of Primordial energy will be more useful. It also solves the issue of needing to sacrifice part of my [Focus] to keep the thermal or kinetic orb nearby.

The question is, how much energy is the core able to store? I don't expect it to be as strong as my epic passive and store something crazy like three times my mana. But damn, even half of that would be crazy good.

So there I sit, constantly sending thermal energy to the core. After some time, I change the setting on the regulator and set more of my mana to work on it. I also generate kinetic energy and mix that in as well. The kinetic and thermal energies spin together, but they do not mix. The golden color of thermal energy, distinct from the translucence of kinetic energy.

It stores the amount I would expect and I would be extremely happy with that alone. But then it continues. The orb we compressed, enlarged, and improved easily allowing it to do so.

When the failsafe we created activates and cuts off the energies flowing into the core, I examine the amount. Isn't that enough to blow away a few buildings with ease?

Should I maybe try hunting the sleeping noodle? With so much…

“Yeah, fighting the sleeping noodle is a bad idea,” the clone says.

When I look at him, he continues, “I thought of it the moment I saw the amount of energy I could store, and if you think about it, I'm currently 10 or so hours older when it comes to the new construct. So I have more experience. Maybe I should call you minion.”If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

“Maybe I should call you an asshole.”

“Anyway, I thought of it, and the snake is probably somewhere between 330-400. So, it’s a bad idea. You just need to remember how the Guardian, with a level under 300 fucked you up.”

“Us.”

“You. I'm barely 1 day old. A minor. So, grandpa Nathaniel, you should help me. I’ve thought about it. Creating a perfect personality imprint is impossible. Both of us know how difficult it is given that we could only leave that trash behind on the 4th floor. But maybe we could find something in this bunker. Later we can even try to check the Veil. But first, you should check the system shop to see if…”

“It's there, I already checked.”

“And?”

“You will see when you get it,” payback for refusing to give me the description of the construct.

He just looks at me without saying anything.

“Fuck, the way you look at me creeps me out,” I say.

“Yes, yes, so?”

“There are arcane grade items and passives.”

“Prices?”

“100,000 shards for an arcane item, 200,000 shards for an arcane passive.”

“Well, fuck, that's like 25 times the price of epic stuff. Epic items and passives are 20 times more than rare. So what? Rarity after arcane will be 30 times more than arcane? 3 million shards for items and 6 million for passives?”

“Most likely, but can you imagine an arcane Mana Reservoir?” I tell him.

Clonthaniel closes his mouth, and I can see his gears spinning.

Yes, just how much mana would a passive like that be able to store? It makes me wonder if there is a limit to my epic Reservoir. Logically thinking, it shouldn't be able to go on forever, right? Tripling my mana, even if I was a much higher level than I am, that shouldn't be possible for a passive that may be useless to me then.

“I’m going to deal with the Veil Guardian, and when I return, we can either examine this place or go to the Bastion.”

“Sure,” he agrees, far too easily.

Like me, he remembers the Guardian, but the moment he became my duplicate, the moment he had a time limit before disappearing, his priorities changed. He currently wants different things than I do. I want to finish the quests, improve my skills, and deal with my enemies while working with him on some other stuff. His goals are to come up with a way to survive, and damn, I'm sure he hates me; I'm sure I would hate being in that situation.

Given the opportunity, if he could gain anything from it, I know he would kill me, and he will try the moment he decides he can't survive. I'm also sure he is already working on plans. But I'm the same.

As more time passes, the more different he will become from me. It's simple logic, really. Everyone changes according to their environment. But at the same time, it feels comfortable. I don’t need to hide anything, he knows everything about me, and I know about him. Both of us can lower our [Focus], and it doesn't even feel unnerving. It's a fascinating experience.

I give him one last look, as he sits in the dark room working on inscriptions with a mana stone.

Then I take the Voidsteel slicer and, boosting my body, exit the bunker, hiding the entrance behind me. I boost myself into the air and burn the flying enemies waiting to attack me and fly out of the Valley.

The moment I pass through the mist-like barrier, the constant pressure on my mana disappears. It feels as if a weight has disappeared from my body, and my mana moves quickly again. It's extremely refreshing.

Pushing myself high into the air, I reach into my core and use kinetic energy to move myself toward the city where I fought the guardian. Without Vega, the flight is much quicker; the country under me nearly blurs.

Holding the Voidsteel slicer in my hand and all that mana and energies inside my body, I land on the road between multiple skyscraper-like buildings. Two javelins over my shoulders compress and grow heavier while I search for the monster.

It doesn't take long, barely an hour, and I locate the Veil Guardian. The monster is there, it hasn’t noticed me yet. He moves like he’s searching for something. His right arm is still missing, it hasn’t been restored. His face is still messed up, blinded in one eye. Yet even with all these wounds, the monster moves with confidence. Each step is that of a hunter, a predator.

I let my [Focus] weaken even further and let all those emotions flow inside me.

My hand shakes holding the blade, and my breaths are quick and panicked. I feel fear.

I still remember the monster biting into my leg in an attempt to eat me alive like it did to the other humans from before. I remember the quiet hours as I lay there under the rubble, my body broken and bleeding out. Hoping the monster had left, but too scared to heal myself lest that bring it back.

All of that is there, but there is also an anger that surfaces as well. A pride and deep hatred of the monster that stepped on it. Even knowing that I should reactivate it, I keep [Focus] down. The longer I look at the monster, the more my plans change.

Then, something inside me snaps, and I launch the javelins. Not at the guardian, but to the opposite side. I let all the mana I’ve been collecting seep into the area, and I grab all of the kinetic and thermal energy my core holds, I grab and release it behind me.

The resulting shockwave tears chunks out of the road, and topples buildings, sending them flying as if caught in a hurricane. After that, all the stored thermal energy explodes as well, melting the structures and roads alike. Scorching the air and flickering as golden flames blaze through the surroundings.

The monster obviously notices and turns to me. It doesn't rush me like before, but the gaze in its single red eye is the same. Deep hatred and anger directed at me.

With my stored mana and energies gone, there is only one thing remaining.

I redirect a thin thread of kinetic energy toward my face and explode it in front of my eye, blinding it.

The monster takes a step towards me, and I take a step towards it.

Then I put the blade into my left hand and cut off my right arm at the shoulder. I watch the blood spurt as the severed limb falls to the ground. As it lies there in the middle of the road, I think it feels somehow funny.

A burst of kinetic energy explodes from me, vaporizing my severed arm.

My next step is much more confident and lighter. My face breaks into a smile.

It feels so right. No hiding behind my skill, no emotions being pushed away. Just me and all the fear I feel overwritten by other emotions instead of being pushed to the back. There is me and the monster. No preparations, no surprise attacks, no stored mana or energies.

The same amount of limbs, the same amount of eyes.

The Guardian opposite of me slows its steps, hesitation evident in its movement until it stops.

I charge first, blood dripping from my destroyed eye and the stump of my arm. No mana leaves my body. Voidsteel blades meet, and I absorb the kinetic energy of the impact and don't budge at all.

That energy flows into my body, strengthening me even further as I move to the guardian’s blind side. It’s a small advantage because of all the senses it has besides sight, but even that little helps.

The guardian moves faster than me, our blades meet multiple times, and each time I’m barely able to block it.

There is fear, filling me each time the monster moves, and as I feel gravity increasing my weight, trying to push me down.

Each attack is easier to block than the last, even though I'm getting slower and the monster moves quicker. I read its movements, I sync with its rhythm, and I absorb all the impact.

The swings of the guardian make a terrifying noise that reverberates through the air while I move slower, accepting the strikes with the blade in my hand. There is blood seeping from my hand as I squeeze the raw metal where the handle should be.

As the fight drags on, I grow more accustomed to its attacks and better able to read the monster's moves. Using kinetic energy in bursts to make my body quicker becomes easier, and I'm finally able to disrupt the gravity magic attempting to slow me down.

I become quicker, I dodge attacks, and I start pushing the guardian.

And with that comes disappointment. The monster is clearly weakened from before. Its body is wounded, and slower, and even its skills are weaker. It’s still a terrifying enemy, and yet it’s lacking.

A swing of my blade severs one of the monster's legs, and I step to the side as its swing destroys the building behind me.

I want to fight more, I want to feel this fear and all these feelings. This rage and excitement. But this weakened monster in front of me isn't capable of satisfying those emotions.

My passives resist the strain I’m putting on my body, and I move quicker, and my next slash sends the guardian's head flying.

[You have defeated Veil Guardian - lvl 289]

[Lvl 222 > Lvl 224]

I disrupt the signal from the body to the Veil.

Not yet.

Then I look down at the corpse.

I expected satisfying revenge, yet I found what could only be a broken toy. But not all is lost. There is one enemy that will test me, that will get the best out of me before this floor ends. An opponent that I'm absolutely sure is much more terrifying than the one I just killed.

The one that is waiting for me by the bunker in the Valley.

After grabbing the monster's arm with the blade I lift off and finally let my passive heal my wounds as I fly. [Focus] snaps back into place, and my head clears off when I reach the Valley.

I pass through the wall of mist, and the immense pressure of mana welcomes me like before. Then I freeze.

The Gaiathra, the giant sleeping Calamity with a snake body and six legs, has moved. The calamity still sleeps, but now its body has shifted.

But most impressive is the miles upon miles of destroyed forest, obliterated, leveled to the ground without anything left standing. Even a few of the hills and mountains that stood nearby are gone.

Clonthaniel? What did you do while I was gone?