MAZE - The Endless Quest

As soon as the safety cube was deactivated, Hera rushed out towards Vulcan. She had already sent him all the information about the spell circles that Noxis had told her, but even with her command, it was different than seeing the spell itself. It took very little time for her to replicate the spell. Overloading an area of the circle while keeping it running. Just like when you put too much pressure on a pipe, the machine would continue to work, but steam or water would constantly be coming out.

It was such an obvious idea that everyone participating in the attempts to solve the issue felt stupid for not thinking of it first. Actually replicating the effect on an object was a bit harder. Vulcan had to use a Mana crystal that could supply enough Mana every second to maintain the effect while simultaneously ensuring the amount of Mana being emitted by the overflow wasn’t higher than what the crystal could produce. The main problem was that there was no math that could help them in this situation. Fluid dynamics was already complicated enough by itself, but trying to convert that into Mana was something that would take a team of PhDs to even begin to unravel. Which meant the only way to make this work was to brute-force it. In other words, trial and error.

If the amount of Mana being spent was too little, it wouldn’t trigger the effect of emanating Mana, as the mana channels would be able to hold off the pressure. Or the effect would be intermittent, which could allow the Mana to disperse too much for the Strength Spirits to be able to live there. On the other hand, if the amount of Mana went too far beyond what the spell needed, the buildup would eventually be too much for the item and cause it to break down, losing all its effects.

The cherry on top of this mess was the fact that almost none of the crystals they had available would generate the same amount of Mana. A few worked close to each other, but even a five-point difference was enough to throw any semblance of calculation out of whack. And of course, the bigger the crystal, the more expensive the spell had to be, which in turn meant that the more Strength Mana would emanate from it.

Even if the idea worked, they wouldn’t be able to replicate any effects if they succeeded in creating the item unless the Mana crystal had the exact same amount of Mana. Everything would be different because the ratios were not compatible. Using the same spell with more Mana led to diminishing returns. In other words, the value of Mana taken by bigger versions of the same spell increased exponentially in a way they couldn’t predict.

After about three hours of work, Vulcan was able to create a flowerpot with a spell to help anything inside it grow, courtesy of Risli and the days Hera spent working on her garden. Along with it, there was a Mana crystal on the lower end of mana regeneration, but it was still enough to constantly create a solid plume of Strength Mana. The idea was that using something like this and planting something in the pot would naturally create a plant that generated Strength Mana.

"Okay, all we need to do is make a few more of those, right?" Crimson smiled.

"That’s easier said than done," Vulcan sighed.

"And unfortunately, that’s not all. Remember? There’s something else we need to complete this. It should be something we already have access to," Hera frowned while looking at the pot. It was made out of clay they created here in the room. There was nothing too special about it except for the spell circle at the bottom and the Mana crystal on the side.

"But what? What can we do to make this better?" Helena asked.

"I don’t know," Hera stared at the pot as if it was going to run away.

"Let’s try reverse-engineering this," Viper suggested.

Vulcan smiled. "Consider the flaws and then work from there? It’s a good call."

"Okay then. What’s wrong with this?" Crimson asked.

"It doesn’t generate much Mana. It is constant, but it’s a slow trickle. If we were to place this somewhere out in the open, I don’t know if it would be enough to fight against the wind by itself," Vulcan explained.

"It’s also a bit... thin?" Hera frowned again. "Yeah, that’s the best way to describe it. The Mana is not very dense. Not like it is in the greenhouse."

"Would making more of them solve the problem?" Helena asked.

"Yes, and no. We could solve this issue with quantity. But again, we’re shooting blind here. And if we waste the Mana crystals, then we won’t have a way to continue supplying the facility or to keep the Daemon sleeping. Not to mention the chance we can just run out," Vulcan replied.

"Then what if we try to increase the amount of Mana it can generate? I mean, there are items that increase your Mana recovery. Can’t we make something that increases the recovery of an item?" Crimson suggested.

Helena thought for a second. "That is not impossible, but it’s very tricky. Also, the effect will be much weaker than whatever we try to make. Items don’t take recovery effects as well as people."

"It will also mess with the spell circle itself. Increasing the Mana it generates would result in it overflowing too much and breaking down," Vulcan sighed.

For a few minutes, no one said anything. All of them were just staring at the pot, trying to come up with a solution. But nothing came to mind. They were just a group of people burning a hole in a clay pot with their eyes, hoping that it could give them answers.

'So, our best option would be some sort of buff that only affects the final result or just the area where the emission comes from,' Eira said.

'We need something like a gust of wind to strengthen the flames. Something that makes the original power stronger. Like a speaker but for Strength Mana. Something that amplifies the original signal,' Pyro grumbled.

'Amplify! That's it! We need to amplify that!' Twiggy gasped excitedly.

"Did you figure something out?" Hera glanced up, trying to see her tiara, even if that was impossible, as Twiggy was on top of her head.

'Yeah. Amplify. What does the glass around the greenhouse do?'

"The glass? It increases the potency of..." Hera trailed off, her eyes going wide as the rest of the group came to the same realization.

"Strength Mana!" they all said in unison.

"We need some of that glass!" Helena gasped.

"And to see if we can make it in a different shape," Vulcan said.

'The material is very porous, so we don’t have to focus only on the inside or outside. Anything we make could be placed both inside or outside of the pot. Trust me, I understand the material,' Clay confirmed.

Forge nodded. "That’s even better. Instead of covering everything, we can just make a small window over the crystal where the Mana is coming out from."

Everyone rushed towards the workshop area where the glass was constantly being produced by a few machines. Almost everything was automated, but there were a few parts of the process that had to be done manually. One of them was engraving the spell circle that created the amplification effect. Luckily, they had a mold to use, so there was no risk of making a mistake while carving the actual circle.

It took very little time to explain the situation and set up the machine to make smaller pieces of glass. The materials that were used for a single sheet that would go to the greenhouse could make a few dozen smaller ones that could be used for the pot. In addition to that, the presence of a Crafter who could replicate the mold and change its size made things progress even faster.

Less than an hour after they asked for a piece of glass, it was already in their possession, with the spell circle carved and waiting to be attached to the pot. Vulcan took a deep breath and slowly attached the glass panels around the crystal. They were on both sides of the pot, connected by a few holes where he drilled in studs to keep everything in place.

As soon as he finished, the Mana coming out of the pot became several times denser. It was to the point where people were able to see a red mist coming from it with their naked eyes. Hera, on the other hand, could see that in just a few seconds, the Mana covered Vulcan completely, even though the mist was still hovering around his hands.

Forge stared at the pot for a few moments, a smile plastered on his face as tears started forming in his eyes. Noticing that, Hera walked over and patted him on the back.

"You did it. We can help the Strength Spirits. Really help them now."

"We did it," Vulcan replied, turning towards the Empress. "Thank you. I know what I asked wasn’t fair."

"Don’t worry about it. It’s been a while since anyone asked me something that was fair. Perks of being an Aspirant Hero, I guess," Hera shrugged.

"Are you finally accepting that?" Vulcan asked.

"It’s not my choice to accept it. People are already saying it. Might as well just lean into it," Hera took a step back and raised one hand. "Also, I give you a Royal Quest. Take the pot and go plant something in the greenhouse."

Forge placed the pot on the table and took a knee before kissing the Empress's hand to receive the quest.

Once he stood, he glanced at the pot. "But what should I plant?"

"I got you covered," Helena smiled and pulled a large crate from the side. There were a handful of plastic pots with some dirt in them and a small case with a couple of seeds resting on top. "These are some samples they had separated. Apparently, these plants have a high compatibility with Strength Mana. They were trying to see if they could make it turn into something that created Mana by itself. Half of our work is already done."

Vulcan smiled and didn’t say anything. He simply transferred the dirt to the pot with the spell circle and gently planted one of the seeds in its new home. After that, he walked alone toward the greenhouse. Some of the Court members wanted to follow, but Hera was against it. Forge had been through a lot. He was taken from this place and transformed into something else. By all accounts, what happened to him would be similar to torture. And now it was clear he wanted a moment alone with his former family.

He walked slowly through the building, reaching the greenhouse. A couple of people responsible for watching over the place opened the door for him to enter. Inside, the former spirit felt the Strength Mana wash over him. Every step was filled with a sense of belonging, a sense of home. It didn’t take long for a few of the other Spirits to approach him. It was something that never happened whenever another person walked inside. But right now, Vulcan wasn’t a person. He was one of them. The floating creatures had a myriad of forms, each representing a unique version of strength. Some were powerful animals, others were tiny mythical creatures, but in his eyes, they were all one and the same.

A couple of Spirits even approached his scarred side, touching it with pained expressions. Even if the Spirits were unable to feel a multitude of emotions, they could still feel one at a time. Vulcan found a place close enough to one of the sprinklers so that his plant in the pot would be properly cared for. He carefully dug a small hole in the ground, just enough to sustain the pot while keeping the crystal outside.

He watched as the Spirits moved closer to the new Mana coming from his creation. This place made him feel peace and happiness for the safety of his kind. The Spirits were safe, and they would continue to be as long as the alliance was able to continue its work. But this place was no longer his home. He could see that now. Ever since he became a Titled Blade, his home was somewhere different. With someone different.

"One day, I’ll meet you all again. I’ll have stories to tell. But for now, my Empress needs me," Vulcan told the Spirits.

He walked back, leaving the greenhouse ready to face whatever came next. He might have been born a Spirit and then transformed into a daemon, but now he was Vulcan Forge, Titled Blade of the Ophidianite Empress. And it was time to prove to the world why she was an Aspirant Hero.