Dimension System - Chapter 89

Now that things had settled down, I was finally able to return to my spatial world. It felt like a long time but had only been a few days in reality. The small town that had been previously constructed had expanded into an entire city district.

Without the need to secure borders the citizens had no need for walls, which in turn created a very open design. It was very eye-catching and unique, showcasing the unity that the space allowed for. People of different races, creeds, and origins mingled together while working, dining, and discussing.

Everywhere I looked, there was a kaleidoscope of activity. There were people who kept themselves busy with construction work. They had declined my help, stating that the work was their hobby and kept them occupied. I allowed them to keep working and encouraged them to take care of themselves.

Continuing to explore the ever-changing world, I came across another faction that had started emerging recently, the philosophers. Some of the older citizens, along with the most educated ones, had taken up residence in the newly constructed library building. Inside the library the scribes were transcribing everything they could into books and tomes.

Outside the library, an amphitheater in the style of the Colosseum had been constructed out of marble. I wandered over to see what was going on. Crowds of people had gathered together, clad in what appeared to be togas. They were drinking wine and debating about the finer points of life.

I walked around the groups, eavesdropping on various conversations and debates. The topics were quite varied, ranging from the meaning of life, to the origin of creation, and even the spatial world itself. Of course there was also some more mundane conversations present, such as people discussing recipes, fashion, and rarely the occasional gossip.

Sometimes people who had opposing ideologies argued quite loudly. Spiritualists rooted in faith clashed with scientists who insisted that technology and reason were the correct way of thinking. Those who preferred minimal government argued against other citizens, who insisted that a heavy-handed authoritarian state was the only viable method.

I had to chuckle at the situation. It seemed people would always find something to complain about, even if they wanted for nothing, and the yoke of production was removed from their lives. The spatial world suppressed the violent urges of man, beast, and monster, preventing any actual fights from occurring.

Having checked on the citizens and some of the recent progress, I continued onward, moving over to the section of the world where the animals and tamed monsters roamed. Both of the additions were in the monster plains, with the Golden Sun Tiger being the closer of the two, while the Iskarii beetles had been placed together with the ants in their anthill.

As I approached the beautiful Golden Sun Tiger, I noticed something strange… it was chasing another, slightly smaller, yet identical looking tiger. Together, they frolicked and nipped at each other in a playful manner.

The strange thing was that I distinctly remember there only being one tiger. Was I losing my mind?

Motioning them over, I continued watching carefully, as they both approached. The smaller tiger stopped before getting within arm’s reach. Then, it melted! Seeing it pool together into a puddle, I realized that it was actually the unnamed elite green slime.

As if to confirm my hypothesis, the little slime reformed itself into miniature version of me! Not used to walking on two legs, it took a few cautionary steps, before falling over. After which, it formed back up again, and continued happily testing it’s new limbs.

While the little guy was playing around, I checked on the Golden Sun Tiger.

[Material analyzed:

Name: Golden Sun Tiger

Type: Monster, Hybrid(Fire/Holy)

Rating: Level 5

Description: These giant tigers have been bred by the Church of Helios as exclusive mounts for their high ranking officers. Swift, strong, and noble, their beautiful yellow and crimson coats will immolate riders with impure hearts.]

I consulted the system and confirmed something. As suspected, the system was preventing the tiger from burning me, instead of burning me up. Well, nobodies perfect! For now, I’ll leave the Golden Sun Tiger here, in case we get another one to breed it with.

Continuing over to the anthill, I made my way to the Iskarii beetles, while the slime followed behind me. Not only had the ants and beetles merged into a super colony, but the new ant queen had grown even larger than before. Though, I was hesitant to use the term larger, as the growth was entirely in the abdomen region.

Briefly looking over the numbers, I was shocked to see that the population had really grown in size. Seems like she has been constantly laying eggs. With the addition of the Iskarii beetles, the colony grew even more powerful.

[Material analyzed:

Name: Iskarii Beetles

Type: Monster

Rating: Level 2

Description: These large beetles are native to the Iskarii continent. Decennial in nature, they hibernate for at least a decade, before emerging to feast on crops. Highly sensitive to high-frequency noise.]

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place. These creatures could be disturbed by high-frequency noise. The more I learned about the situation, the more it seemed like an instigated attack against the Ishkar Kingdom. There were a few more things to wrap up before investigating the magical devices we’d found.

Proceeding on to the fountains, I discovered that the citizens had been collecting the mana potion daily, and then adding it into the system storage. There was another, very similar looking fountain, that was added next to it by the health potion.

[System has detected that a unique water variant has been absorbed. Concentrated levels of Dimensional energy detected. Production of spatial water fountain source is pending Magic subroutine analysis of structure. Estimated time of completion: Two days, three hours, and twenty minutes.]

Now that we finally had health potions, Senior Lee and the goblin scientist could work on something even better than the pink healing powder, which was a crude and painful healing concoction. The powder had been cobbled together from starfish DNA, various herbs, and a few drops of lich blood, courtesy of Marcus.

We’d been able to use it for healing in emergencies, but there was a major downside to it. The alternating necrosis and regeneration affected not only the wound, but the nearby tissue as well. In other words, it healed, albeit slowly and VERY painfully. Studying the basic healing potion and experimenting would hopefully provide a much better solution.

Checking the potion off my list, I proceed onto the final inspection item, which was at the mine. I could already hear the miners excited discussion over the newest addition. Even if they didn’t need it, what man could deny the pure joy of mining gold!

[Material analyzed:

Name: Gold

Type: Ore

Rating: Level 1

Description: Gold is a shiny material that is highly prized by almost every civilization. Even monsters and beasts understand the value that this decorative and conductive metal holds.]

With gold coming in the mine daily, our wealth will grow and expand by leaps and bounds. Everyone loved and used gold as the basis of their commerce. From simple gold-plated coins used by lower class, to solid gold coins favored by traders and merchants, all the way up to gold bars and ingots used by the wealthiest.

Finally! I’d forgotten how much work there was around here, now that I had my clones working on special projects. Taking a break to grab a quick meal, I was able to catch up with my family and friends for a bit, which was just what I needed. Discussing the future of the spatial world, I laid out my plans to establish an empire of our very own.

“Speaking of which, Angel should be copying the libraries right now. The knowledge we absorb should allow us to educate and enrich our citizens. We’ll fill the entire library with our collective knowledge and make it a bastion of wisdom!”

———————-

A soldier in a full white plate-mail suit accompanied a royal palace caretaker to the Ishtar public library. The reveling citizens cheered whenever he passed by, toasting their glasses in a boisterous manner. They were quick to make a path and let him through, for no one would dare block the hero who had saved them.

“Right this way sir, the public library is just ahead. This is the largest library in the city, though the majority of the books are only the basics. History, Geography, Mathematics, Biology, it’s all here sir.”

The soldier gave no verbal reply, choosing to simply nod his head in acknowledgement. Entering the library, the caretaker showed the staff his royal badge, before showing them the writ explaining their purpose for visiting. Turning back to the soldier, he asked how they wanted to proceed.

“Right, so shall we gather the books for you?”

“There’s no need.”

Raising his hand above his head, the pristine armored gauntlet transformed into a translucent dragon head, which was pale white in color. It grew in size, before passing through the bookcases like a ghost.

Both the caretaker and the staff watched in bewilderment, as this pale ghost dragon ate the books, causing them to disappear, and then reappear mere seconds later. Their initial worry was abated when they checked the books, confirming them to be unharmed, and in the same positions they had originally been in.

“That’s one.”

Coughing twice, the caretaker worked up the courage to ask this strange soldier what he meant.

“One what, sir?”

“One library.”

“Wait, you can’t possibly mean…”

Sighing, the royal palace caretaker knew this was going to be a long and strange day.

———————-

A rough looking group of a dozen armed men approached the restricted area of the Ishtar docks. Behind them, a soldier clad in a black plate-mail suit sauntered with an air of confidence. The two guards protecting the entrance felt nervous, their hands subconsciously reaching for their spears.

“This area is restricted! Move along now and don’t cause any trouble!”

Stopping in their tracks, the group of men let out a hearty laugh, while the leader approached brandishing a royal decree. Cautious of forgeries, they carefully inspected the documents, double and triple checking it.

After ensuring the legitimacy, the reluctant guards opened the seaside warehouse assigned to these men. The entire event was strange, as the warehouse was designed for VIP ships to load or unload goods, and was currently empty.

Once the group had entered the warehouse, one guard whispered to the other.

“Something doesn’t feel right about this.. I’m gonna go see what they’re doing.”

“Just forget it..”

Quietly climbing onto some nearby boxes, the curious guard peered in through a nearby window, peering in on the strange group of soldiers. The other guard was frantically trying to motion him to get back down to his post.

Suddenly, the soldier hopped off the boxes, scrambling back over.

“T-there’s a ship in the warehouse now. Couple of ’em in fact!”

“No way, how could that even be possible?”

While the guards argued back and forth about the hypothetical ships in the warehouse, the soldiers had re-emerged. Both of them froze mid-conversation, realizing too late, that they had stopped whispering.

The soldier’s leader spoke out loud, to no one in particular.

“I just hate nosy guards. Ain’t that right boys?”

‘Yeah!’ chorused the rowdy group of thugs.

“We can’t take any chances… take care of ’em.”

Fear gripped their hearts as they realized that they may have made a terrible decision. Adrenaline allowed them to maintain a steady grip on their spears, as the assailants menacingly approached them. Outnumbered, they steeled their hearts, preparing to make a last stand and go down fighting.

Surrounded, the guards were soon captured and tied up. After that, they were knocked out by being hit on the head. Waking up a few hours later, they scrambled to untie themselves. Checking the warehouse only revealed it to be completely empty.

After a brief search, the guards determined that nothing was looted or stolen from the area. Heading back to their post, they noticed an unknown sack on top of a letter, which was next to a few bottles. Checking the contents and reading the note gave them both a dreadful sensation.

‘We know who you are and have memorized your faces. Enjoy the things that we left behind for you. Forget you ever saw us and burn this letter. Otherwise, we will kill your families!’

Shaken to the core, they turned over the small sack and twenty gold coins clinked out onto the floor. Picking them up with shaky hands, they divided the pile evenly, before inspecting the bottles left behind.

Quaffing the strong, unrecognizable alcohol, the guards attempted to steady their nerves. Finally settling down, they agreed never to speak about the events that had occurred. At this point they just wanted to go home to their families.