Months went by with Synexus looking through the archives of his people and learning a lot. His focus on the records was anything that wasn’t shown in the memories he had seen so far. He was glad to find that it wasn’t all about tragedy and there was some of the culture he wanted to see when coming into the trial. The video records were fascinating, and he instantly had to learn how they captured images and then were able to play them back.

  There were movies from the original planet as well as Zaxillian made films. Some were informative while others were forms of fiction that Synexus grew to love. He would always have something playing in the background while he searched for the perfect material for his armor. Ever since that conversation with Gene it was a burning question in his mind and while watching one of his favorite sci-fi shows he had found, he got an idea. Since then, it was about finding the right materials to use for the material he got the idea to create.

  Looking through the artifacts, he was able to find a couple of legendary materials that could be useful. Then once he learned how the servers worked, he was able to look up records even faster for any materials that could be of use for him, and he had already taken two trips out of the city to go on material hunts.

  On top of his research into the material and the archives of his people, he spent a few hours each day taking out memories and sometimes getting a glimpse of the war through the perspective of those fighting it. Each memory had a more urgent feeling than the last while they obviously led to the extermination of his people. Even the trial seemed to be heading that way since some days he would wake up, and another part of the city would be destroyed. Gene said it’s because of some type of mana fluctuations on the outside causing the timeline to shift. He hoped his friends were okay.

  At the end of each day, he would work through the flow of the forge knowing that once he found his material, he would only get a few tries before needing to finish the trial. It was exhausting to keep up this schedule, but it was necessary. At least he didn’t have to climb a mountain for years like Zuls did. That sounded awful when she told him about it.

  His idea for the material came from seeing a fictional material that could alter itself. In the sci-fi show it was an alien of some sort that basically was living matter. People in the show were scared of it and of course it was the bad guy because it was an alien. Synexus actually felt for the material since it was the only one of its kind left like he was.

  That being said, it sparked his project into finding the right ingredients for the perfect armor. His living matter. Luckily, his class was the perfect tool for something like this. So far, he was taking the vast knowledge of the Omniaether and the stone of the same name, mixing it with a ridiculous amount of plant and animal DNA from this Genome Library, and then fusing all of that with a mix of several different foundations of several different materials to create something special. The first two parts were done since he had spent a week diving into the Omniaether and figuring out how it had become stone. By replicating that he was basically going to make Omni-Matter in a sense. Then he had found the genomes he wanted to borrow from which came from self-altering plants as well as intelligent plants he had logged. This would give the Omni-Matter its living aspect. It would be able to grow like a living being and it would actually have its own genome unlike other living materials. He was just on the final part. Finding what to build all of it on.

  For this part he already gathered parts from Mythillic, Mithral, Earthroot Steel, Zaxillian Silver, the liquid memory the Locked Memories were made of, the Elder Branch Bark, several types of bamboo, silk, some other fabrics, and various other metals. He was just now trying to find a material that would be willing to accept all the various things he was modifying onto it. This base material would be the bonding agent, and he had found some contenders except none of them were working quite as well as he hoped. His answer didn’t come until a couple of months later.

  Through constant collecting, refining, and modifying he levelled up all four of his main skills to level thirty and that granted them a much-awaited skill evolution each.

  Genome Library has evolved into Genome Archive!

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Genome Refining has evolved into Genome Perfecting!

  Matter Database has evolved into Element Database!

  Matter Modification has evolved into Element Modification!

  Genome Archive: You have collected and understood a vast number of genomes and it’s paying off. You can now collect the genetic information of any living being including intelligent lifeforms.

  Genome Perfecting: Refining has led you to knowing what perfection looks like, now it’s time to have further precision when editing genomes. You now have the ability to edit the genomes of any living being. For intelligent lifeforms, you need their consent to alter their genetic information.

  Element Database: Your search into matter has led you to the foundation of creation itself. Materials in your database will now be further broken down into the very elements they are made from.

  Element Modification: Modifying materials has led you to understand them on a foundational basis. Take it further by having more precision when modifying materials to alter the elements they are made from.

  Of course, these happened weeks apart from each other, but Synexus knew he needed to get them all levelled up for the project sitting before him. When Genome Archive had evolved, he knew what had to be done because the first genome of a person he logged was his own and that sparked an idea. The base material he would use would be his own flesh and blood. It clearly could be altered since Body Transmutation could do it and it would literally make the material part of him.

  Once he got his last skill upgrade, he finished logging all there was to know about his own body and got to work. His new skills allowed him more creation precision than before. He felt that he was able to alter reality itself by creating things that weren’t in existence yet. Seeing the elements that made up the material and then being able to move them around with precision allowed him to make further adjustments to the first two parts of his project. It had to be perfect and for that to happen, he had to be meticulous with every step.

  ***

  Gene was a fly on the wall observing the progress that Synexus was making. Before, they knew his ambition was too much and the forge would reject his attempt, but now seeing what he was working towards creating, they weren’t so sure.

  The creation he was attempting to make from all aspects of his path was extremely complex and only someone with his intelligence, class, and memory would be able to handle such an undertaking. Even still, the owl simply couldn’t bring themselves to believe it was possible. The ramifications of making something like this alone could be universal in scale. His creator would even be impressed by such a creation.

  Gene knew the trial needed to be finished sooner rather than later with how quickly the mana was starting to leak from the dungeon. Clearly something was wrong outside and was causing the dungeon to break down in a way. They weren’t even sure if it could last until the decade mark was reached. Synexus had to hurry no matter what he was going to do with the forge. His trial should come first, but Gene couldn’t bring themselves to bring a genius away from what could be a one-of-a-kind material. Could the forge even replicate it with will?

  ***

  An entire year had passed since Synexus evolved his skills and the dungeon was becoming more unstable by the day. Gene told him that they had roughly six months before the dungeon would be forced to close and the trial would be forced to end. That gave him the timeline he needed since he had just finished his material.

  Progress Matter (True Unique): This material was crafted using your flesh and blood. A living form of matter connected to your soul. Using your will, the matter will know exactly what aspects to take. A sentience could form given enough time.

  Synexus looked at the notification and the moving material in his hand. He could feel it searching his soul for what was needed but found nothing and simply became inert. Pride swelled within him as he looked down at what a year of work had become. It was amazing to say the least. Gene even had wide eyes as they inspected the new material.

  He sent it to his Progress Garden before going out and doing his couple of hours of cleaning up Locked Memories for the day. He had thinned out their numbers quite a bit over the year to the point where Progress was enough again to battle them. It was clear his trial was coming to an end. Memories were coming even less often than before, and the war was reaching its final days. When he couldn’t find any more, he called it a day and went back to the forge. It was finally time to attempt to create his armor with the Aether Forge.