My sleep was refreshing. Awakening, however, presented me with a problem. The form this problem took was the head of a rge golden wolf using my stomach as a pillow. His noggin was very, very heavy. I didn't get too upset though. I figured some ear scratches would rouse him from slumber soon enough. A few moments ter his hind leg started beating a frantic rhythm. Hehe.

  I gently whispered, "Wake up, Lumiar. I have a city to burn." I said it in a sing song voice. Worked for the Mongols, didn't it.

  His head rose as he shifted to gaze at me. "Are you really going to burn the city down?" He expressed doubt in his tone. Perhaps, it was disappointment. I kept getting the feeling he really didn't like me. I only wish I knew why.

  "Some of it, probably. I'll absolutely try to help other parts." I chuckled, "We'll see which parts get which treatment, I guess." Now that Lumi's head had moved, it was time to get moving.

  I manage to fight my way to a standing wobble. Which I then transformed into a full body stretch. "Ah." Lumi promptly resettled his head and went back to sleep. I snorted at him.

  I waddled over to a stream to get a drink of water. Refreshing and invigorating. I would have drank from the pond, but miraculously I noticed fish swimming about in there. I don't care how magical the water is I'm not drinking water fish have pooped in. At least not without boiling it, and running it through a filter. Also, now that I was watching the fish, I spotted it glupping down algae and nibbling on a variety of water pnts. Amazing, the rising mana levels have given rise to life.

  I checked my interface, 10:30 AM. It had become the next day. Wow, I slept good.

  'How are you this morning, Meadran?' I started doing some stretches and basic calisthenics, trying to get my blood flowing properly.

  'I am well, Young One. The mana fills the air and the water and soon the nd itself shall be infused. Life, in all its forms, shall be renewed.' He was happy, and that warmed my heart.

  'Anything need tending? Do we have any pressing issues to resolve?' I continued my exercises. I'd have to remember to start a daily routine.

  'For the base no, I can keep handling the expansion for now. You however have experience that is overflowing. You need to level and gain the boons therein.' Okay, that sounded interesting.

  'Alright what do I need to do.' Meadran talked me through the process. To start with, I had to access his menu options.

  [ Tree of Life Meadran is connected to the Great Tree Network.

  Options:

  Choose Css

  Raise Level

  Create Wisp ]

  Per his instructions I selected Raise Level.

  [ Current XP: 3456

  Raising a level costs 1000 XP

  Raise Level? Y/N ]

  I selected 'Y'. I was curious about what was next.

  [ Druid of Renewal has reached Level 2

  You have gained the spell, Growth

  You have gained the spell, Entangle

  You have gained, +2 Spirit

  You have gained, +1 Will

  You have gained, +2 Free Points ]

  That scroll of text was accompanied by a jolt. Which was like, constant pulses of energy burning through my body and mind. I couldn't move or speak. My thoughts became sluggish for a few moments.

  Once I had shaken the remnants of the odd pulses off, I could speak again. 'Should I do it again, Meadran?'

  'Yes, once more.' There was a sense of amusement.

  [ Druid of Renewal has reached Level 3

  You have gained the spell, Cleanse

  You have gained, +2 Spirit

  You have gained, +1 Will

  You have gained, +2 Free Points ]

  While not quite as intense this time, the pulses were still very distracting.

  My BTC shivered,

  [ Adjusting...]

  [ For reaching Level 3 the Company Awards you,

  1 Prismatic Wisp. ]

  A huge shimmering Wisp appeared. While mostly just composed of bright white light, as it danced around specks of every color trailed behind it. I didn't need Meadran to tell me that there was something extreme special about this Wisp. I could feel it radiating mana in vast quantities.

  'While there are many buildings and units this spirit might create for you, the best option at this time would be the Company Store.' Alright. Meadran hadn't lead me wrong yet. I gave the order.

  The huge Wisp floated to a spot halfway between the pond and the Nexus, and just like that, became a building. That fast. The Company Store, was a structure that shifted and changed from one moment to the next. Not just the shape, but the very nature of it's material. After watching it long enough to have to blink away tears, the only constant seemed to be volume. Though who could really say if even that was true.

  'You need to touch it to connect it to the network. Then proceed to the Nexus and choose a css from the options there. You need a bit a bance in your css.' there it was again, that sense of amusement, this time mixed with trepidation.

  Another css? I barely understood anything about the css I had. Again, my trust in Meadran is all that pushed me forward. I touched the crazily changing building. there was a new form of energy compressed in this building but I had no idea about what kind of energy it was.

  [ Adjusting... ]

  [ Connecting Company Store to the Great Tree Network ]

  [ You now have access to The Quest System ]

  [ Company Store Options

  Items

  Themes

  Units

  Heroes ]

  Great. More things I didn't understand. No, calm down. I could figure this out. Items proved to be a list of items I could buy for Company Points. Mostly weapons like staves, and armor like my old robes. There were also a selection of potions and spell components as well. Units had a list of special Probes and Wisps I could buy for Company Points. A Prismatic Wisp, for example, cost 100,000 CPoints. Themes and Heroes were unavaible at this time, thought the terms invoked some truly grandiose ideas. Yeah, I'd have to check back into this ter.

  That done I marched up to the Nexus. Once there, I went through the same motions to get to the menu.

  [ You have selected Choose Css

  This will cost 1000 XP

  Choose Css Y/N ]

  Of course, I chose yes.

  [ Css Options.

  Please note, you may change your Css in certain circumstances.

  You may also Multicss. ]

  [ Tempr of Mental Healing

  +2 to Will

  +1 to Spirit

  +2 to Psi Resonance

  A Tempr of Mental Healing soothes minds and bolsters wills. Removing Corrupting Psychic Influences.

  Starting Psi Techniques: Calm the Troubled Heart, Cloud Mind ]

  [ Khai Phase-Smith

  +3 to Tech

  +2 to Psi Resonance

  A Phase-Smith studies and improves PsiTechnology

  Starting Psi Techniques: Study, Implement ]

  [ Warp-Smith

  +3 to Psi Resonance

  +2 to Tech

  Changes and Coverts materials. Summons and Repair Units.

  Starting Psi Technique: Convert, Repair ]

  Okay another list of options I couldn't begin to understand. Firstly, The Tempr wasn't even in the running. If for no other reason, than I didn't like the sound of it. The smith csses both sounded like they would allow me to understand Khai tech. Which could lead to making improvements or maybe adapting human tech to work with Psi energy. That appealed to me on a fundamental level. But which of the two to take? I had a strong sense there was some overp in their functions. However, the Phase-Smith sounded more academic, and I saw a need to be able to convert materials, more than improving the already impressive Khai Tech. I ran that around in my head a few times.

  I nodded. Warp-Smith it was. The energy this time was intrusive, it reached into my mind and started dumping energy in there. It was imparting knowledge. Knowledge of schematics and techniques. Which would have been great, but I was human and now my head was being stuffed with highly advanced knowledge. So it felt like my head was about to fly apart.

  "Aaaaaaa!" In between moments of agony, I thought I had a solution. Free points could be spent on stats. "Nnngggg!" I needed a bigger brain, right? Maybe, the Intelligence stat would work instead. Anything to make it stop hurting. My voice was crackling from howling. In pure desperation I put in a point to Intelligence, and ever so slightly things started to adjust. Information began to seem more organized. Another point and I felt my thoughts clear, the stream of data no longer a jumbled mess. A third point and I could breathe once more.

  I gulped the air, eager to fill my starved lungs. I went ahead and spent the st free point. My thoughts were clearer than they had ever been. "Hahaha!"

  I spent the next several minutes calming myself as well as reviewing my status. While much of it was still foreign to me, I no longer felt that it was completely alien.

  I'd have to go over my new css abilities when I didn't feel like I just narrowly avoided having a heart attack. At least, I seemed to be growing. But was it in the right direction?

  It was with some caution that I entered the Khai Forge. Though that caution was soon thrown to the winds, as I ran my hands over the Matrix Engraver. It was a machine that burns a Psi circuit into a Khaydarin Crystal. Then I turned to the Material Disassembler which broke down pretty much anything, into its basic molecules. Next, I examined the various Assemblers which turn those molecules into Metal, Psi Crystal, or Solidified Energy. Lastly, I studied the Nano Forges to build and shape materials into final products.

  While the new knowledge rolled around in my head, I now had an intuitive understanding of these machines. With some time and effort I might be able to alter temptes and create specific things I needed to implement them. With my exposure to the Forge, I now could comprehend the primary difference between the types of Khai Smiths. The Phase-Smith could create new temptes, but would struggle to source materials. As a Warp-Smith materials would be plentiful, however, I would only be able to alter temptes I already possessed or could find.

  I had a suspicion that the Scans the Probes had been so prolific in performing, would be able to serve as temptes. If so, that meant I could alter then forge human tech. Which use not only useful but necessary for any long term goals.

  Reaching out through the Psi field I touched the signatures of Probes. A couple dozen different personalities of Wisp Infused Probes were active, yet only two had been named. This made them stand out in the Psifield. I called Scuff and Fix to the Forge. They arrived and I gave them pats. They seemed to like that. No clue if they really felt it, or just liked the attention. One thing was becoming clear though. Khai Robots developed their own form of life after a time, and the Wisp Infusions enhanced and accelerated this process. They quickly uploaded all their scans. I thanked them and they returned to their tasks.

  Hours passed as I reviewed the data. Yes, these would work as temptes indeed. I quickly pulled up the scan of my Omaha. The circuitry to integrate with smart gun technology was simplistic by Khai standards and full of unnecessary components. I had the idea to use the tempte of the Photon Cannon, for an example of Khai targeting circuits. Then I realized that no, that wouldn't do. The Cannon circuits were designed for fixed ptform targeting. I needed something from a more mobile ptform. Ah, there was the Dragoon. A type of battle tank with legs. It had a slightly more complex targeting circuit with a certain level of adaptability baked in. Which made it perfect for my needs. Of course, several parameters would have to be tweaked, psma wouldn't behave like a solid projectile. Usually.

  The chassis and barrel of the Omaha could be redone in the brassy Khai Alloy, which was a very complex metallic molecule. It came in several variants, we would go with one of the medium strength ones here. Its tolerances far beyond most alloys avaible to humans. This would also allow for new more penetrating forms of ammo. Yes, the propelnt could be minute amounts of solidified energy. The bullet itself a lighter Khai Alloy. A finned design for better aerodynamics. Good.

  I could with time convert my pistol to fire psma rounds. But the gun would have to be rger and heavier. I already had a hard time handling it. So let's stick with solid projectiles for now.

  Compile. One prototype tempte. Alina ran the tempte through several simutions. She decred it viable. I had the Forge assemble one and then a hundred rounds of the new ammo. The weapon had still ended up heavier, by about a pound and a half. It was a brass colored version of the Omaha, a few tweaks making it a bit sleeker. When the ammo was done, I headed to the edge of the Valley.

  I would be shooting the mountainside, for the most part. This was only meant to be a stress test. Readying myself for extremely heavy recoil, I braced and squeezed the trigger. It didn't disappoint the kick was potent, but I managed to avoid getting kissed this time. Maybe I should pull back on the propelnt a tad, or figure out a better recoil compensation system.

  After a few dozen rounds. I was growing to love my new gun. I had a feeling it would shred most things I'd meet in the city. Well, we could test that. Back at the forge, I printed up a couple of armored ptes. One representing the best armor the Probes had scanned in the city. The other a light variant of the Khai alloy roughly the same as what the Probes were rocking.

  Testing showed that while both failed to stop the bullets. The human armor failed more dramatically. Heh. It was a skewed test anyway, the real armor of the Khai was their shielding technology. I'd have to test that out next. Hmm.

  [ Omaha Khai Variant - Prototype

  Range: 40 yards

  Damage: 10

  Ammo: 9 round magazine +1 round in the chamber ]<

  Not bad for my first attempt. I took a break to grab some another fruit to eat. This time a golden pear-like fruit off of one of the blue leaved trees. Very firm texture, crispy and tart, not too dissimir to the apple but with its own distinct fir. Like the apple one fruit completely filled my belly. I was sure it had something to do with the mana.

  I spent some time walking around and just enjoying the Valley. The walk was just to clear my head, and let a few more idea percote under the hood. Yet I was pleased everything was coming along nicely.

  Then I thought of what the Corpos would do if they found it. That could never be allowed. The horrid images my brain conjured up, lit a fire under my ass to get back to work.

  I marched back to the Forge to spend the day designing new ways to protect this peace.

  Matuscarantos