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[D'sP] Plank To The Face - Chapter 389
🕑 Added 2024-08-23 09:58:28 +0000 UTCAfter their assurance that everything is fine, Ace leaves the coup and starts to dig into what exactly the options are for the wizard tower. While the messenger’s coup was a standard build, with apparently options for the person running it to customize the place. The tower would be something for Ace to customize.
And once he begins to dig into it, that appears to be true. It seems that the system isn’t the one making the wizard tower, but a conglomerate that is focused on providing buildings to the system. In fact, the deeper Ace looks into it, the more it becomes clear that even if a building or two might be spun up by the system whole cloth, most are actually built by someone.
This means that in theory every building is fully customizable. But only in theory. The reality of it is that the buildings are already built and the system stores them until needed. This is doubly true for any system rewards that aren’t basically consolation prizes line the coup. After all, the commonly handed out buildings get churned through pretty quickly, while the special prizes, like for instance wizard towers, end up sitting around for a while.
However, while the system wasn’t going to let Ace browse through a catalog of options, it did give him some common changes. For his wizard tower in particular, Ace lands on what the system calls “the segregated” option. Which given world history is not what he is going to call it.
Nevermind that what is separated isn’t what most people seeing that word would assume. Rather, it is simply a wizard’s tower with special areas set aside for nobility. This includes an entrance to those areas that only those allowed to can enter.
Ace went for the simplest model where the two entrances are on opposite sides and incorporated it into the inner wall opposite the main road. Or as most are calling it, dungeon street. The system even did a bit of custom work to integrate it into the wall instead of just plopping the building down. Which was more impressive now that Ace knows it wasn’t conjuring up the entire building to begin with.
Though he soon regrets sticking around to get a good look at the place. If the messenger bird building has attracted a bit of a crowd, this one upped it. While the coup’s tower was pretty visible, it wasn’t to the extent of the wizards tower. The thing was a mini-skyscraper all on its own with six to seven floors from the look of it.
And it wasn’t some spindly mess either. The building had a decent size footprint and went straight up. If Ace was honest, it stuck out like a sore thumb. Oh, and of course it maintained the towns theme, IE, bones. It was an ivory tower where the ivory part was more true than many would have been comfortable with pre-system.
Ace shakes his head and jumps over the wall to escape the crowd. Behind him, a few people who must be new to the town try to follow. That does not work.
While the number of people living in the inner circle isn’t exactly numerous, they take their privacy pretty seriously. So, as they’re soaring through the air, planks of wood are tossed out from somewhere inside the wall. Those planks smack the outsiders squarely in the face, catapulting them backwards as the planks rebound back where they came from.
A good number of people in the crowd laugh at the hooligans. It wasn’t a common scene, but it also wasn’t uncommon. New people wouldn’t believe the stories. Someone would get drunk or a “smart” idea and try to sneak into the inner circle. Then they’d go flying for one reason or another.
While no one had signed up to guard the place, there were always a few people hanging out. Combine that with the fact that those from the inner circle are quite adept compared to those outside? You end up with all those attempts failing as they get detected and kicked out.
Oh, and even if the people just hanging around didn’t catch them, there was a good chance that one of the Barrais would be around. They take care of those who were missed. That and the more malicious attempts tend to be wrapped up by them.
Ace ignored this all as he used the inner circle entrance to the wizards tower. Inside, the tower is pretty empty. The nobles section in this setup takes up about a quarter of the tower, though all of the top floor, because of course it does.
Oh, and the bottommost basement floor, the third down where the tower core is? That floor is under even stricter restrictions. At this moment, only Ace can enter it by both system restrictions and some fancy enchantments as well. A restriction that Ace doesn’t plan on changing for the moment.
Though the tower isn’t completely empty. There is a bunch of furniture including the third floor where both the public and the private area is one giant library. In the center of the library stands a desk for librarians, so they can cover both sides if needed. However, it is clearly set up so that it can be separated in case they wanted librarians for specific sides.
Also, there ended up being nine floors. Six above ground and thee below. The reason it looked like there could be seven is because the top floor was a room and a half tall. That extra height wasn’t being used for anything at the moment. However, going by some mounting points in the ceiling, it was probably meant to set up some sort of solar model.
Ace finished up his examination of the tower by dropping off the books on enchanting, plant magic, fire magic, and the leadership skill family in the private section. The one on fire having been a reward to Ruby. Jim had also gotten a book, but it was on archery and was being kept in his Guild. And in all likelihood, there were other books out there, but they hadn’t been turned in yet.
That all out of the way, Ace heads into the bottommost basement floor where the tower core resides. He hadn’t been sure exactly what he was expecting, but what he saw was disappointing. Then again, he admits to himself; he was probably comparing it to the few times he had seen the dungeon’s core.
The tower core was many times smaller, only about the size of a marble and not a shooter, either. It didn’t help that the core only had a dull glow and for the most part appears quite grey. Though, to be fair, it wasn’t a functional core yet. There was still one step left before the tower was truly complete.
Sure, if you made a wizards tower yourself, you’d have to wait for the core to gain a soul, but this was a system reward. From the description, the only reason it didn’t come pre-ensouled was simply because it is cheaper for the system to teleport around materials as compared to actual beings.
Well, what the system actually said was that you could get the tower with a soul already in place, but it was going to cost you extra. Ace was simply guessing about the core reason for this. Even if it made sense.
Whatever the case, it was now time for the last step, that of waking up the tower. Ace steps up to a stone pillar with a handprint engraved on it that perfectly fits him. Oh, and there’s a small needle near the end of each finger and at the center of the palm. This was going to require some blood it seems.
Ace didn’t particularly mind this. Well, after checking the system again to make sure this was actually required, and it was. Then he presses his hand on the imprint and the world goes white.
Not because everything is white or that he is seeing white, but whatever Ace is seeing acts like a blind spot to such a degree that nothing can be seen. His mind subbing in an expanse of white which is strange in and of itself since complete darkness would be the more traditional view. Then some details begin to slip in.
There are stars, flickering points, perfect spheres, infinite in size, yet smaller than a point. More must be out there, but his mind struggles to even hold those relatively close. Despite that, the number of them are uncountable, both for how many there are and the fact that some are constantly leaving his range and at the same time more enter.
No directions yet Ace feels there is an area where he is that is separate from the stars. Outside of this vision, Ace’s nose begins to bleed, but just as quickly the system is patching him up and removing the blood. Though this outer sign of distress is simply an afterthought as the system is forcing his brain to remain healthy despite veins trying to burst all over the place and neurons trying to burn themselves out.
Ace feels guided towards the stars that seem the brightest, though only by comparison as all the points shine brighter than any actual star. However, Ace ignores this guidance as those are simply the closest. Instead, he is in a quieter area now where the stars are more sedate.
That one. He can not point or even speak, but the system bridges the gap. Out with the pillar, the needles suddenly reveal holes in their tips and begin to suck down his blood. Though it doesn’t just gather in the depression around the handprint.
Instead, ribbons of the stuff begin to hover through the air and encapsulate the tower core in runes old even before this dimension was formed. The star falls despite direction and distance being meaningless and Ace faints. Though his body remains standing, propped up by the system.
Over an hour later, Ace wakes up. He can sort of remember that there was a white space and stars, but trying to even put himself within that space causes a headache. For while the system had kept him safe, part of that was allowing his mind to never have known something in the first place. A thing that naturally happens to those that are not ready.
Whatever the case may be, the ritual worked and the blood runes had been absorbed into the core. Not that this caused any sort of imprinting or anything. It was simply the medium used to power such an ancient working. The tower now had a soul.
Yes, it was very much asleep. Yes, if nothing was wrong with the tower it wouldn’t ever wake up. However, that simply means the tower will be better at its job. An awakened structure doesn’t always agree with those using it, while a sleeping one is much more like a computer except with a sapients intuition and what not.
Ace nods as he can feel the tower thrum with Mana. He was happy with how things turned out. This was the right place for it. Though he did have to laugh as he remembered what some people had suggested.
Whether it was right on top of the dungeon dome or inside the dungeon itself, they all had weaknesses. The inside a dungeon suggestion in particular was shot down right away as apparently you can’t own land inside of a dungeon. Kind of puts a crimp in it when you need ownership and a strong claim to a piece of land to place the tower. Like, Ace had checked and he couldn’t even put the tower outside of the current outer wall despite them still having stuff out there and having control of the land.
Ace shakes his head, he needs to test the tower. It should have some things already as part of the standard wizards tower package. “What does 1 minus 2 plus 3 divide 4 times 5 equal?”
[tower], “[2.75]”
Ace shivers, the disembodied voice is particularly flat and creepy. While that supposedly fades with time, Ace isn’t certain he is going to come around and ask the tower math problems anytime soon. Even if it might help him figure out some of the paperwork he has piling up at the moment.
Material Placement - Chapter 388
Comments
Akhier Dragonheart
It is important to remember that when a soul cores leaves a dimension, it leaves most of who it was as a being behind because the soul shell doesn't come with except maybe a the barest of scraps. Things that tend to linger are stuff like a bias towards becoming a certain species and the most basic of talents. A person born with a talent for swords likely actually was born with a talent for tool use that is biased towards attack and then something in the dimension itself further refined that into a talent for swords. Most cases of reincarnation are either the case of someone powerful enough going in before a person actually dies and tossing a person's soul (core+shell) into a new body before that person can die (this can be done by the person who is dying, classic Lich nonsense there). This requires either a lot of power (True Immortal) or preparation. An example of the preparation route is my other story, NeoRealm. In that one, the gods specifically set up Jason to be sacrificed to encourage the hero and so they had a spirit body prepared to accept his soul. Otherwise, they couldn't have saved him. There is of course more to that, especially since they then got his soul into a new universe which is stupid hard for anyone that isn't a True Immortal. So, could they pull in the soul of someone who was super powerful and died? Yes. However, if they actually fully died, they aren't coming back as themselves. Maybe they would have more talent at what they had been known for. However, I would actually question whether Prof X would in fact have mind powers in my setting if the soul is reborn. Why? Because his power comes at least partly from his body and not entirely the soul. He is a mutant whose mutation gives him vast mental powers and not someone who has vast mental powers. If you remove his mutation, he is no longer a mentalist. He would however likely still be a genius. Though there is some blurring of the lines. He has in various stories transferred his mind into another body to survive. However, he also tends to end up looking exactly like himself after. Obviously that is just so people recognize him and they don't lose one of their most recognizable characters. However, he is a genius in the field of genetics and so likely did something to turn his new body into a copy of his old. However, it is also possible that his mutation inherently changed the structure of his mind and so wouldn't lose anything as long as he still has his mind. In this omniverse I would likely have the reborn soul of Prof X having some sort of talent towards mental abilities in general or maybe something to do with inherent abilities. However, just as equally, I would not have him truly die that easily. I would put his chance of having a backup plan to survive his supposed death at the same level as Palpatine. Besides, his native setting is a super hero universe. In such places, souls tend to linger for some reason or another. So even if he died without a backup body, his soul core isn't instantly slurped up by the void.
mly85lc
Ok. That make sense. No OP grampa goming to teach you stuff. Speaking whits if you're world/city leader that planet's have, Higher than normal Pyschig powers per person. Would it be wise or suicide pulling in soul "Charlie Xavier" off [PIS powers] as your tower sprit? Ps. Maydy whole towers sprit as city's lawfully member could be used as puch get organisations up on city? After if non awakened can have protection of law why not have normal citizenship have same options... and demands.. Oh and once or if towers awakened it's should have overcome some knowledge test, social test alongside MHNY=Murder Hoodoo, Yes, or No? And PPDBSN=Please, Please, Don't, Be Sky Net.
Akhier Dragonheart
Even if the tower awakened, it would be on the level of a young animal with the possiblity of becoming like a young child after a long if undetermined period of time. Yes, he could make it a part of the town inner circle, but that would be like putting one of those robot arms from a factory on the union or marking down a cow as being a worker on a farm. Technically they do work for the entity they'd be joining. There is a reason the library floor comes with the facilities for librarians. The tower, especially at the start, can put books back onto the shelves in the correct place if first informed that the place is correct and the books are placed in a receptacle to mark that they are to go back (otherwise it would be grabbing books out of people's hands when they pick them up, to put them back down, at least to start). Sure, given enough time it will be like a clever animal and right from the beginning it can understand speech because of so many advancements in tower construction. But it is more like an animal than a sapient being like unawakened dungeons.
Akhier Dragonheart
Superficially so. If the tower was made correctly it cannot awaken and it can not create things whole cloth. Though it does have some ability to use magic instinctively which for most people will seem to mimic what a dungeon does. For instance, they tend to maintain their buildings if not being maintained by the system through simple things like shape stone to morph away any cracks in the stones that make up the building. Also, if there is a population of some sort of lab critter for testing, the tower will be able to maintain them and grow the population of usable subjects as needed if provided with food or facilities to grow said food. I will admit that wizard towers were made to try and mimic dungeon cores. In fact, they superficially succeeded. You could make a "dungeon" with a wizard tower. It would be slow to restock because it would depend on a natural population of monsters without a dungeons time acceleration and summoning. More importantly though, a tower core (and building cores in general, though any other types tends to be boom or bust. Either a place goes all in on it or you basically don't see them.) does not eat cruft. In fact, they make just as much as any mage would because they are mages, if instinctive.
mly85lc
Ace could make the towers sprit officially part of town inner circles. Whit sitting on council, whit voting rights representing by "head libraries" or some such titel. Nominally a neutral party whose tasks it is to act as references and contact point whit different experts on field/town. And he could have entry recuimets for stepping to tower be /a personal greeting/ask to step in/ or something similar to tower sprit/representative. Of town.
mly85lc
The question is what or who he get to come there? Elderich moster? A ancient elmentals? A spirit off.... protection/enchantment? Or his death team mates spirit form after live? Aprit of Once master magistrate/mage? Or shaman dreams diviners form that hostile ohter faction? To palace the wizard's faction ablity and influence later once it awakens.
Black Esper
Isn't the tower spirit something like a dungeon core? So would it be able to defend itself and create a mini dungeon (only mini, because it's such a small core) if it wants to or awakens?
Akhier Dragonheart
I must admit, my own concept of wizard towers and naming them is either just "the wizard(s) tower" or named after the current owner, whether that means something like "Merlin's Tower" owned by Merlin or "Burst Fire Tower" owned by the Burst Fire mage academy. Now, the tower spirit itself will have its own name.
Akhier Dragonheart
And with blinders on!
Telewyn
Ace is probably making a minor mistake. If he doesn’t name the tower himself, he’s gonna get Tower McTowerface or something. The townies aren’t a sophisticated bunch.
Black Esper
Seems like Ace did, what Doyke does to get a new Boss. The strain on his mind is well discribed 😀
