Weeks were spent fighting hordes of Locked Memories out in the city while experimenting with his newly created skill. He had learned a lot about how powerful it was in combat and the usefulness outside of combat.

  When he summoned something from his garden he could decide where it would be summoned too. At the beginning it was a somewhat small radius of about ten feet in any direction. Now, at level 11, that had been upgraded to roughly fifteen feet in all directions. This meant that he could also choose to have the seeds appear in the ground beneath his enemies to catch them off guard. He also found that anything in this radius would count as him touching it when it came to being able to feed his mana into them such as Extreme Growth or Extreme Repair.

  His favorite thing about the new skill was his thief plant. He would wipe out hundreds of Locked Memories and sometimes they would drop vials of the memory liquid that was still filled with remnant magic. Before he would have to go around and pick it up, but now he would simply summon his thief plant and hundreds of vines would grow out to pick up anything magic.

  He could also use Genome Refinement and Matter Modification on anything within the Progress Garden which meant he could do the alterations in his head while visualizing the garden. This had already granted him another level in Genome Refinement since he could work in a much more convenient way now in between memories or while resting his body.

  Overall, Synexus loved his new skill, and it would continue to being a staple in his repertoire of skills.

  They were still a week out from starting the Aether Forge training, so most of his days were filled with taking care of as many Locked Memories as possible and in the three weeks that had netted him two new memories.

  One was about how they had finally been able to take out the spies that had somehow slipped through the forcefield and had done most of the damage so far. There were a hundred spies, and each one was executed. Synexus didn’t like watching that part by any means, but he understood why the System felt it was important.

  The second memory was another council meeting in which they discussed mysterious power fluctuations that had made their forcefield generators unstable. From what they said, Synexus and Gene determined the fluctuations happened at the same time that the Corrupted System had been born and when it was defeated. Gene’s theory is that the vast amount of power that went into the parasite had caused a planet wide pulse that interfered with the generators. They were also forthcoming in saying that it was a mystery the council had never solved and what had eventually led to their defenses falling.

  Synexus couldn’t help but think about how such an unexpected result of something so far away could be the cause of the downfall of a great civilization. He had been wondering how the enemy had managed to take down what seemed to be an indestructible defense with how advanced the technology of the field was. Now he had his answer.

  After another long day of taking out Locked memories, they returned to their temporary home in the forge tower to rest and count down the days until they could start the Aether Forge training. However, the System decided they wouldn’t get to rest. As soon as they stepped into the base of the tower, ethereal light coalesced into the form of the group his father was in.

  Synexus was surprised to see another memory so soon, but watched intently when one of the researchers approached the wall he had written his timeline on and then chanted something in his original language. Suddenly, the wall shook, and a portal formed in which they entered. He didn’t want to lose them, so he ran over to the wall and said the same phrase and walked through the same portal.

  The portal led them to the middle of a circular underground room that had several doors along the outside of the room. Each one was clearly marked with a sign and Synexus followed the group through the one labeled “Main Knowledge Archive”.

  When they walked through, he had to gasp at the size of the massive room with several small glass rooms taking up the space.

  One of the smaller rooms had boxes full of written records, another had some sort of visual records with screens on the wall, another had stacks of odd machines with a sign that said “Knowledge Servers” on the door, and a final one was filled with artifacts from his planet’s history including one of Gene’s trees.

  Synexus felt excitement as he looked at all the rooms thinking about everything he could learn while in the last few years of the trial dungeon. He almost took off for the first room when Gene smacked him with their wing and pointed towards the memory that was unfolding before them.

  His father looked nervous and was fidgeting with the weapon in his hand. He had obviously not had much combat training, but any class chosen had decent stats when they got to level 68 which Synexus learned by focusing in on him.

  “Alright, your group is to stay here in the main archives and protect our planet’s history. We have another group of researchers over in the universal archives and us soldiers will watch the portal in the main hub. Rest shifts will happen every 6 hours, so please split yourselves into three groups. We will lead the first rest group to the bunk area.”

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  There was some shuffling around and talking before the three groups were formed and then one was led back towards the main hub to start their rest shift. Synillic stayed with a group of about twelve. When the soldiers left, he decided to speak.

  “We know how important it is to protect this knowledge. After all, it is the history of all the research our people have ever done. I suggest two of us stay up here to watch the door, two of us at the entrance of the Aether Forge power core entrance, and then eight of us will patrol between the two groups while keeping an eye on each of the records rooms. Any other suggestions?”

  No one said anything and simply nodded in agreement. Synillic took a spot in the patrol and then the memory faded away leaving Gene and Synexus in the barely lit room of the archives.

  “I don’t know how they didn’t immediately run over to the records and simply start diving into all the knowledge this place holds.”

  “Oh, as part of the Research Sect initiation, they must go through and view all these records. Synillic was down here constantly as part of his job. He would often talk to the version of me in the artifact room.”

  “You spoke to my father?”

  “No. Regrettably, I wasn’t supposed to get involved. By this point, I was basically a figure only talked about in stories along with my creator. They knew I was sentient but figured I couldn’t speak to any except for my creator.”

  “I could see it being a problem if all the great minds went to you for advice on the conflict or used you as a bargaining chip since you were close to your creator.”

  “Exactly. You never know what people will do, especially in desperate times. Now, I know you’re dying to start getting into these records.”

  “You know me too well, Gene. Is it possible to take any of these outside with me when I leave the dungeon?”

  “Perhaps, but it would be beneficial for you to simply go through everything and memorize them. We never know what will dissipate when leaving the dungeon.”

  Synexus nodded and went towards the written records since they seemed the oldest.

  To his surprise they were older than he expected. There were records of the first humans that arrived on the planet before they had evolved to integrate technology. Journals from varying perspectives leading up to the evolution into Zaxillians. After that the written records thinned out even though there were still some. Conflicts were documented and different plagues they had to overcome. Some were written blueprints for various buildings and primitive tools from the original planet of the humans. No matter what it was, Synexus found it fascinating and thanks to his increased stats and memory, he had finished the first room in under a week.

  After that, Gene advised taking a break to start the Aether Forge training and clearing some more memories before starting on what they called “Video” archives. Synexus reluctantly agreed and they went back up to the top of the forge for the first time in years.

  Once up there, Gene asked Synexus to explain how the forge operates to begin with.

  “It draws power from the core below the archives and funnels it up into the circuits that run up the tower. The power from the electricity is used to attract mana from the atmosphere into the spire atop the tower which funnels the mana down into the forge. Enchantments lining the tower get fed excess mana and activate the condenser which assists in condensing the mana. At that point, the Mana Weaver needs to start pushing their will into the forge which will create the will pathways for the condensed mana to follow. Once the intention is mixed in with the condensed mana, the forge will assist in condensing the mana even further to create aether or physical mana. The forge will then take the users mana and will to run it through the creation array which alters it through the use of the skill pathways that Zunzutoxsian placed into the machine from his own skill which then solidifies the aether into the desired matter.”

  “Very good, you paid attention. Theory, however, is much easier than practice. Even with the forge guiding you through the process, you need to focus. A clear visualization is needed. I will not weigh in on what I believe you should create, but I would like to ask what your plans are.”

  “I want to make armor that will grow with me like Kumo’s. I have a weapon now and I can’t think of any other item that would be beneficial to me. I always thought I didn’t need new armor until I realized how much it could assist me in my goals. My current idea is to make armor that follows Progress. I’d like to create a set where each piece boosts my stats or my skills in some way preferably by how many entries I have in my collection skills.”

  “That sounds ambitious. I’m not sure if it is something that will be doable. Adding something based on your skills will require a lot of work when it’s time to flood your will into the forge. Remember that you are creating reality from mana and intention. Anything is possible and I won’t discourage you, but I do fear the trial dungeon won’t last more than the decade we planned on. I can already feel strange mana movement happening on the outside.”

  Synexus nodded with the warning. “I know you don’t want to sway my opinion, but could you provide your opinion on what my armor should be made of?”

  “I can provide suggestions. Your Elder bark has provided you with fantastic protection, but against higher levelled foes it won’t hold up. You need something light and immensely strong for your combat style. It would also be smart to do a living material since you want it grow with you. Living materials can be any material, since you have the ability to modify matter. Take advantage of this fact and create the material you intend to use before your final attempt. Mythillic is a fantastic choice as it is extremely light, and unbelievably strong while also being a great mana defense. Another option would be Earthroot Steel. It was made from infusing Steel with earth and plant mana, so it could possibly boost your skills a bit. It’s also flexible when it comes to enchanting and may be powerful enough for your design. No matter what you choose, it will be part of you, so make sure it speaks to who you are.”

  With that final advice, he started to follow the flow of the steps to operate the forge. He knew that he wouldn’t even attempt an actual run-through until he figured out the material for his armor and he already had some ideas of how to come up with something that was truly him. Something that would grow with him and his skills since he had to think about the future from this point forward.