Weapons of Mass Destruction

We have [Manipulation], we have [Connection], we have all my skills, and we even have Lily to heal us if the pressure gets to be too much and hopefully stop a brain or two from melting. Mine should be fine, but I’m not entirely sure about the others.

After rehearsing the entire process a few times, we get to it.

Sophie, the twins, and I start working on the Logic Core, inscribing the base into the highest quality mana stone we possess. The mana stone is surprisingly small, only as big as my thumbnail, and its color is reminiscent of voidcopper.

For the first time, I also sacrifice some of the alloy Nevan left to me back on the 5th floor. As I melt and pummel it with kinetic energy, thin threads of the metal stretch into the air, connecting themselves to Fracture’s crossguard as I work on preparing the setup. The heat I need to reshape Fracture gets pretty intense, so Lily helps by using [Disintegration] to make some space at the cost of destroying bits of valuable metal I could have reused, but I don’t think it can really be helped.

Meanwhile, Sophie is preparing a basic structure for the new Logic Core, sketching out an outline for me to inscribe into the stone, though she’s not very good at working with such high-quality mana stones. There’s a certain degree of resistance you need to push through, and I’m just better suited to the task.

The twins wait patiently to play their part in the process to help connect it all, preparing to join their minds for that purpose.

My expectations aren’t high. Even if we do succeed in creating a Logic Core and connecting it to the weapon, it’ll still be empty, ready for me to work on as Sophie teaches me how.

The main objective is to add some new functionality to the sword—and it happens. For the first time in a while, nothing goes terribly wrong.

I inscribe the mana stone with a design that should allow the Logic Core to integrate with the weapon while leaving enough empty space in the stone for future modifications. Sophie then takes over, primarily working in a supportive role, meticulously addressing any minor imperfections.

The entire time, the blade stays in its sheath and I use [Resonance], giving it my all to endure the process and support the twins’ [Connection]. I can see how taxing it is for them, but I know they can do it. I’ve seen the skill and determination they possess and the way they enjoy the challenge. I may have taught them, but the effort was always theirs.

It takes us quite a while, but by the time we’re done, a copper cabochon cut mana stone adorns the center of the cross guard where it comes to a point just above the blade.

Contrasted with the blade and its mottled gray hues, and streaks of voidcopper, it looks surprisingly nice, even though the finished result is somewhat ruined by the imperfections I created when I was forging it.

“That was surprisingly easy,” Aaron comments, staring atFracture.

Sophie looks at him. “What did you expect, an explosion and mortal wounds?”

Dennis waves at her, and when he gets her attention, he just points at me.

Sophie follows that point and looks at me as well, her mouth wordlessly saying, “Oh.”

Ignoring the heretics I ask instead, “The Champion’s bond before felt like it had emotions. Do you think a sufficiently advanced Logic Core could do that?”

“I don’t know, Nat,” Sophie shakes her head. “You said he called his bond ‘she,’ but I still think his bond was fully artificial, just taken to such an extreme that it might have felt like a living being, without truly being one.”

“If it had true sentience wouldn’t that mean the Champion basically created life?” Aaron asks, seeming genuinely curious.

I shrug as I think about the answer. “I would like to know. Did he create inscriptions, like a modified personality construct of his mind? Was his bond just another native of the floor, with a false semblance of emotion? Are the natives truly fake, like an elevated version of a Logic Core? Are they clones of beings that lived long ago with a predetermined expiration date? Lissandra made a personality imprint of her own, and now she’s messing with all kinds of things all over the place.”

“If so then maybe creating a living being isn’t as extraordinary as it might seem?” Aaron wonders.

“That would be fucked up though, wouldn't it?” his brother asks, shoving him. “If that’s the case then what stops someone from cloning themselves and leaving a few thousand versions of them wandering around?”

“They would probably be subject to certain limitations or need to build their stats and levels on their own—if they could even connect to the system in the first place,” I reply, opening the door to my room as I finish sharing my wisdom, allowing the rest of group 4 waiting outside, to shamelessly jostle their way inside.

Maya pokes the table with the ax and shield on it. Tess lifts Biscuit from the chair and sits down, pulling him into her lap.

Izzy rushes over to Sophie, and Min-Jae joins the twins, who immediately start showing off as three of them surround Fracture and poke it careful to avoid removing the sheath.

Amazed by such shamelessness, I quietly move to the corner of my room.

It’s the final night before Framework ignition. We spend the remaining time discussing our strategy, though I only half-listen. Once everything is organized, a few leave to get food. Stories are shared, and jokes are exchanged.

Knowing the danger looming over us tomorrow, everyone agrees to put their grievances aside for the night.

In the morning, Sophie leaves with Maya and Lily. Tess moves to the top of the tower, her eyes tracing their path as if she can track their signatures even through the heavily warded walls, with a large number of javelins surrounding her.

Dozens of them trace paths through the room. Another dozen have been weaved from my mana, making them extremely tough and durable. The kind that could probably last a year or two if left untouched.

Another dozen javelins have been made from Lily’s bones. Knowing that they’ve come from the body of a person possessing [Disintegration], high Constitution, and a powerful healing skill, they cannot be underestimated.

Min-Jae sits next to her as well, surrounded by boxes, filled to the brim with orbs as big as my fist. Some are once again made from my own woven mana and others have been made from Lily’s bones.

There is something weird about it, but at the same time, it has a certain kind of logic to it. The materials are just that good.

Izzy and the twins are on the lower floors of the tower, ready in case of attack. The sleeping Biscuit and Noodle are there with them.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

All of us are connected through the web Sophie and the twins have provided, allowing us to communicate.

I, meanwhile, stay in my room, connected to the Framework through [Ley Line] and watching the entire process, all my preparations within the room ready to activate. [Focus] sharpens my mind, bent to the task of helping me process the immense amount of information.

As I wait the Framework slowly begins to activate.

At first, it’s almost unnoticeable. Seemingly dozens of mind mages surround the main set of inscriptions, connecting their minds to the construct and gradually pulling in the minds of the people under their control and those of the monsters they’ve caught and locked up for this specific purpose.

Slowly, more minds are added, and mana batteries placed across the city are tapped as the city itself—acting as one big inscription—activates. Everything is calculated to help the process: the width of the streets, the height of each tower, the number of windows in the towers, their materials, and the very shapes of the walls.

It’s an incredible piece of work that must have taken decades to build. Something I find hard to imagine a simple group of level 300 individuals devising on their own.

That unsettling feeling becomes more pronounced—as we feel a pull from all around us, enough to make a person dizzy. And even though we should be protected and excluded from it, we can feel it, and the others can probably feel it more than me.

Gradually, even the minds of the people walking through the city are taken over, no one seems capable of resisting, and all life stops as they halt their movements wherever they are, standing rooted in place, empty expressions on their faces.

Anxiety continues to build, intensifying as I glance toward the inscribed roof at the heart of the city, where everything is unfolding. The roof, covered in dense, golden inscriptions, radiates light with an indescribable hue. A powerful, concentrated beam shoots upward, piercing through the cloudy sky and beyond.

As I monitor the Framework, I sense hundreds, thousands—tens of thousands—of monster minds connecting, each one pushed to its limit, strained to the breaking point, and many ultimately die in the process.

The pressure continues to mount. Monsters keep falling, and some of the humans on the streets begin to succumb. Mana batteries drain at an alarming rate as an extraordinary number of calculations are rapidly performed in succession.

The immense power of these minds becomes a resource, directed by the city’s inscriptions.

Then they succeed.

Something changes. Something invisible, yet everyone feels it. The very air seems different, and the stifling sensation of a ceiling overhead disappears. The pressure vanishes with a single audible crack—like the snapping of a twig—echoing across the entire moon.

The spatial locks are broken, and with it, the city begins to shake. A tear appears in the sky, and from it, a single giant eye emerges and looks down towards the city.

The eye looks human in structure but it’s clearly way too big to belong to any human. The iris is black, and the pupil is golden-brown, while the sclera is weaved through with a tracework of bloody veins as it stares, unblinking.

It would seem like the spatial locks were holding one of the Containment Cells closed.

The Framework starts to die as minds begin disconnecting.

That’s when I step in.

My mind shines within the Framework, and I feel all the presences within turn to me in an attempt to sever my links to the construct.

They cannot.

My Ley Lines aren’t that simple to get rid of.

My mind is not that simple to overwhelm or attack.

All the inscriptions I’ve made, all the Ley Lines connecting me to them, activate, and my mana pours out of my crown as I take over the Framework and make use of that resource—that power—all these minds.

I’m not a mind mage, so it’s not perfect. Over 90% of that power is wasted, but even that, even 10% of the processing power from those thousands of minds is enough. The inscriptions leading to the table holding the ax and shield activate. Everything has already been prepared and carefully planned, enabling me to accomplish something that would otherwise shatter my mind in an instant, if it didn’t take me months to complete.

The surface of the table starts melting and cracking under pressure, but I hold everything together deep within my [Focus].

[Focus - lvl 59 > Focus - lvl 60]

[Ley Line - lvl 40 > Ley Line - lvl 41]

[Ley Line - lvl 41 > Ley Line - lvl 42]

[Infusion - lvl 47 > Infusion - lvl 48]

[Infusion - lvl 48 > Infusion - lvl 49]

[Redistribution - lvl 57 > Redistribution - lvl 58]

The immense power of that mind converted into a resource, flows through the Framework I’ve taken over, channeled via my Ley Lines and inscriptions, and guided by my will. The experience I gained while working with the twins on Fracture brought to bear as I apply the same techniques to the axe and the shield.

Healing marks activate one after another. My arcane passive safeguards my mind, though its primary function is to defend against mental manipulation—not against my own actions. Unfortunately.

Still, I hold on for as long as I can, pouring every ounce of effort into directing the power of these minds to aid in forging the items.

Finally, when control slips beyond my grasp and I can no longer regain it, the work is complete.

Before me lie two finished creations.

Ironbreaker (Mid Arcane) -Ironbreaker functions as an impenetrable shield, capturing the kinetic force of each attack within its dense layers, causing the energy to bounce back and forth, amplifying with each reflection. This concentrated energy can then be released in controlled bursts, resulting in powerful shockwaves that may be used to repel even the fiercest assaults. With each impact, Ironbreaker’s internal structure temporarily reinforces itself, becoming an unyielding barrier capable of withstanding relentless physical attacks without compromise.

Mana Reaver (Mid Arcane) - Mana Reaver draws intensely from the wielder’s mana, honing its edge to an almost unnatural sharpness that cleaves effortlessly through any magical defense. Upon contact, the blade releases a unique disruptive effect that interferes with the mana flow of anything it touches, suppressing skills and breaking through magical barriers. The wielder can channel additional mana into each strike, immensely amplifying the weapon’s potency and allowing it to cut through even the most formidable magical protections.

Three healing marks from Lily activate, mending my body from the strain of crafting the items. I wish I could make more, but as expected, this seems to be my limit, even with all the help I’ve been afforded.

I immediately send an order through the system.

Do you really want to sell the following item for 135,600 shards?

Mana Reaver (Mid Arcane)

Yes/No

Do you really want to sell the following item for 129,900 shards?

Ironbreaker (Mid Arcane)

Yes/No

The offers are each lower than what I could get for Fracture, even in its imperfect state, but for now, it’s enough.

“It seems like you will be staying with me for a while longer,” I note, speaking to the sword as I confirm the notifications.

Then I make another choice.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Do you really want to sell the following passive skill for 9,110 shards?

Arcane Resilience (Mid Epic)

Yes/No

The window disappears, and I check my shards.

Shards:554,546

Finding myself with more shards than I had expected, I decide on a different passive, one I’ve had my eye on for a while.

"Buy passive skill Mental Attunement Loop (Mid Arcane)."