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MillionNovel > The Atropos Schema > Chapter 102: Taking Stock

Chapter 102: Taking Stock

    The worm’s tunnel led to an open, underground cavern about the size of a football stadium.  Inside the cavern, I could see and sense traces of D-rank ores buried in the floor, ceiling, and walls.


    <It’s likely drawing from the same Aether vent as the Transcendent Taproot,> Samantha said. <If we’re lucky, we can dig deeper and find some C-rank metals that you can use to hone your Rune Mastery.>


    I felt a rush of excitement at the thought of C-rank metals, but then Samantha quashed it. <That’s not a job for you, though,> she said, immediately.  <You should have someone else—maybe Ethan—clear out the rest of this mine.>


    Petra did mention that he was going a bit stir-crazy. But can I really trust him not to steal what he finds?


    <If I remember correctly, your sister is a mind-reader,> Samantha said, dryly.  <She’s probably already scheduling regular “check-ups” with everyone working for you.  If Ethan tries anything, then she’ll catch on very quickly.>


    Oh, right. But what about the loot here? With my Luck, I can increase the loot significantly.


    <You really need to work on understanding the big picture,> Samantha responded. <Let’s say you find ten more E-rank skill books by exploring these tunnels—that’s not worth a single D-rank skill book. You are capable of making C-rank equipment. That is the big picture.  Now build a town already, and let’s get out of here.>


    <hr>


    I spent the afternoon making D-rank Mana Shields. The metal base was Cerium.  Abelino sold me the material, already fashioned the way I requested—a breastplate, with a groove in the middle a bit smaller than a fist.


    The core of the D-rank Personal Mana Shield was the Compressed Mana Crystal, which slotted easily into the groove that Abelino’s blacksmiths left in the metal.


    In addition to the breastplate version of the Personal Mana Shields, Samantha showed me how to make a smaller version.


    Instead of a breastplate, this came as a belt, which had a pouch built in which was bigger on the inside, using the same rune patterns as an Interdimensional Pouch.


    The belt had two benefits—it didn’t require that the watermelon-sized Mana Crystal be compressed, and it wouldn’t weigh me down the same way as a breastplate would, since the contents of the Interdimensional Pouch were weightless, due to the Rune Patterns.


    As I was working on Rune Patterns, Samantha was double-tasking, giving me feedback on my work while reforming the missing runes on my right arm, in order to recreate the Mana Cannon on my arm.


    Ethan was happily exploring the town I had created in South America.  When he saw that I hadn’t named it yet, he insisted that I call it Barith Town, and I had eventually agreed.


    Under Petra and Uman’s command, the mines around Nova City were being milked for all they were worth.


    While Mana Beads were abundant, there were also several caverns that allowed easy access to Mana Shards.


    Petra kept bugging me about the Belian Brambles and the Aether vent underneath it.  It was a huge waste of space and resources, but I had no idea what to do about it.


    The Belian Brambles had evolved to D-rank, thanks to the Aether vent, and trimming them was a continuous, exhausting endeavor.  They seemed to almost take pleasure in bending away and then snapping back at anyone who tried to harm them.


    If only it were so easy as building a factory on top of the vent to convert the Aether into a more useable form of energy, like mana crystals and so on.


    But the thing about Aether was that it was harder to control. It was esoteric, and even the Schema couldn’t control it directly.


    Instead, with Abelino’s permission, I had collected a seed from the Transcendent Taproot, as well as numerous seeds and living plants from the various valuable herbs we had found in the Rainforest.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    According to Samantha, transplanting and growing D-rank plants was supposed to be extremely tricky, requiring a lot of skill and in many cases even a Gardener’s profession.


    But all these problems can easily be solved with an Aether Vent. By absorbing this pure life force, the plants would be able to thrive even in the dark, sun-less environment that was Nova City.  Their only threat would be competition between different plants.


    It was disconcerting, knowing everything that was going on around me, but not actually doing the things myself.


    As I made my D-rank Mana Shields, someone else was currently chopping down the Belian Brambles—or burning down, judging by the pillars of smoke I could see out my window.


    At the same time, Ryker was preparing all the towns along the coast of California to be attacked by sea monsters, and Uman was organizing a search of Freedom City’s surroundings in order to find anything remotely valuable.


    What should I do with the Treasury Token? I asked, as I continued working on another breastplate.  I know you’ve mentioned that I will need a core that will increase my Soul Magic Affinity to C-rank. Should I buy one of those?


    <Definitely not,> Samantha said, immediately. <I keep trying to remind you. Just because something is C-rank doesn’t mean it can hold a candle to other C-rank things. It is a thousand times better to buy a blueprint than a C-rank core.  That said, I think you should hold off on using the C-rank Treasury Token.  There is something else you should do, first.  I’ve been holding off on having you tackle the Infinite Tower, hoping for one last stat boost from that Zone Lord you just killed.  Remember that the Tower calculates performance based off of how you perform in a fight relative to other people or monsters at your level.  Since you’re only D-rank, those 20 Stat Points would have been extremely useful in strengthening you relative to others.  But now with the incoming monster attacks, your level is likely to rise faster, without significant outside stat boosts. In fact, your stats will rise at a slower pace compared to people who start with a C-rank class, so with every level you gain, you are actually falling slightly behind.>


    <All of this is to say that you should tackle the Infinite Tower now, before the sea monsters attack.>


    But if I go to the Infinite Tower now, what if I miss the attack?


    <You will only be gone for an hour or so,> Samantha reassured me. <It will feel like much longer, of course, but remember, just like when you gained your C-rank Profession, it isn’t real. Even if you die in the Infinite Tower, you just get kicked out of the tower, without any penalty.  In fact, none of the penalties suffered in the Infinite Tower carry over to reality once you leave.>


    If the Infinite Tower is so important, should I wait until my skills have all reset?


    <That’s not going to be an issue. It’s one of the few perks of the tower—you’ll appear in the tower in peak condition.>


    What else should I know about the tower? I asked.


    <The Tower is structured like a game show from your old world, where you need to know when to cash out.  It will start by giving you opponents that are your level, starting at F-rank, and eventually all the way to S-rank, if you can make it that far.  The Tower is broken into floors, each with a separate challenge.  After every five floors there is a Tower Store, and a chance to spend your points for real-world items. You get points for clearing the floor, and for various achievements while you do—completion speed, not taking damage, etc.  You can spend these points in the Tower Store, but what you purchase is restricted by the floor that you just cleared.  To make things more enticing, the store will show you what you could buy if you challenge the next five floors and make it to the next store.>


    <It is a common mistake for people to overestimate themselves, with their eye on a prize that is far too difficult for them, and then they walk away with nothing.>


    Well, you know my abilities. How should I approach it?


    <It is common for the Infinite Tower to hide treasures on its floors. Sometimes it’s literal buried treasures, sometimes it is an additional weapon, or extra points to be gained by killing hidden monsters before clearing the rest of the floor.>


    <So we have two hidden benefits that you shouldn’t underestimate when it comes to dealing with the Infinite Tower.  The first is Luck.  We will want to increase Luck the moment we enter each floor. The floors are generated in a somewhat random way, and with increased Luck, we have a greater chance of encountering treasures or hidden monsters on each floor.  We will want to kill hidden monsters in order to gain Achievements, use the Achievements to challenge Missions, and then collect as many points as we can that way.>


    <Our second strength is our Perception and Mana Sensing. With those two skills, it will be very hard for the Schema to hide anything from us once we enter the Tower.>


    I couldn’t help but feel excited about the way I could cheat my way to victory with the Infinite Tower. So, do you think I can get an A-rank item, like Dawnbreaker?


    Samantha snorted. <A-rank items don’t fall from trees.  That said, it’s funny you should mention Dawnbreaker.  I do have an idea how Dawnbreaker managed to gain an A-rank item from the Tower.  In fact, the clues are all there, if you think you can figure it out for yourself.  And fortunately, you are just as capable of using the same little bug in the system that Dawnbreaker used.>
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