[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 259 – Meat’s Back on the Menu!

With the addition of the Food Court to their number, Sil’mara’s population had ballooned to over 300 souls. They routinely fished people out from the Maelstrom’s sweeping currents, usually only two or three at a time. The Food Court, on the other hand, had over a hundred well-fed and feverishly loyal subjects to the Burger Queen, Molly.

Raiko didn’t mind their desire to be separate. The Food Court was almost entirely self-sufficient, which made things easier on their burgeoning supply chains. It was her desire that groups of people could find safety and shelter with one another, rather than be hunted by monsters and eaten by the Maelstrom without ever having the opportunity to grow and live.

Those that wanted to venture off on their own could do so if they chose.

Skyshards could tether one another without belonging to the same faction, so it didn’t matter too much that they operated under different banners. It did mean that one day the Food Court could turn hostile and attack, but that was about the same thing as two standard neighboring city states.

If Raiko was attempting to forge an Empire, she might have tried to take the Food Court. That was far from her intentions though.

Ryan and Henry, the “base dads” from Kale’s group, were working their usual magic on the newcomers. They could sell ice to a fresian. It was always amazing to watch them work, knowing that they were using good old-fashioned charm and empathy instead of any Shard-granted skill.

Not that Raiko would have faulted them for using something that boosted their natural talents. In her eyes, it should have been one in the same.

“They don’t have vegetables,” Ryan told Raiko later that day. “Henry suggested we trade a portion of ours for some of their monster meat. They’ve apparently got a way to cook it that renders any of the toxins inert. Turns out if you deep fry monster meat, it becomes edible!”

Henry frowned at Ryan. “You’re just trading a quick death for a long death of cholesterol and hardened arteries.”

Ryan held up his hands. “Guilty! Besides, we need meat. That’s one thing we’re severely lacking. We’ve made great strides with vegetables and mushrooms. The little dude has been an absolute champion, but people crave meat. Even monster meat, if cooked properly, will go a long way to making people more comfortable.”

“Do it,” Raiko agreed.

It was good to have some trustworthy people to shoulder some of the burden. She still would have traded every last soul for Sam’s return. Raiko knew he would return. She just wished she knew when.

The longer he was away while Sil’mara brokered treaties and gained new people, the harder it would be for him to perform his role as King. The people couldn’t be loyal to an absent ruler.

At least not without meeting him first and learning about the sort of man he was.

Despite her efforts otherwise, people were beginning to see the “Sage Queen” as the sole leader. It seemed just about impossible to dissuade them from calling her that.

“Raiko, a word!” Lenal hurried up to her, clutching a few aged books.

Haman squeaked a hello to the elf.

“Hello to you, Haman!” Lenal slowed her pace to match Raiko’s as they walked toward the workshop where several people were being instructed in woodworking, courtesy of Kai.

“Yes?” Raiko prompted when she noticed Lenal’s lingering stare on the group.

“Sorry! So, Matt has finished drawing up the caverns he saw beneath the Aker Academy and we–that is, Bal’daz and I–think we can make use of them.”

“For what?” Raiko couldn’t see how they would be useful as anything other than a poison repository or a bug-hunting zone.

“Much of the moss that Matt brought back shows signs of harboring great quantities of mana. If we cultivated it properly and purified the source of poison–likely toxic buildup of old magical items that were improperly disposed of–we could turn the caverns into a mana chamber!”

Raiko had only a passing understanding of mana chambers. They were usually opulent things found in castles and great works of ingenuity with the good fortune to be situated atop a leyline. She had never heard of one being built.

“That sounds far too good to be true,” Raiko admitted. “Are you sure?”

“It’ll take some time,” Lenal added, “but I think that with about a hundred workers or so, we can clear it out and start the process within a week or so.”

“That’s a lot of people devoted to one project.” Raiko looked towards the Aker Academy’s floating isle. “A mana chamber would be immensely useful, but…”

Lenal clutched her books tighter. She dropped her voice to a private whisper. “We need the mana.”

Raiko withheld a sigh. “How bad is it?”

So much depended on mana. Skyshard speed, loft, and durability were just the core functions. Tile replenishment, growth, and evolution were an even greater demand on mana reserves. People even needed it to breathe, and they absolutely required it to advance.

Whatever spare mana they had, that tiny castle wasn’t getting enough of it. Judging by how its growth had stalled, it would take decades to finish its expansion.

Some mana was naturally generated, some of it wasn’t. Something like a mana chamber was well suited to generation. It could feed the settlement cores and support the Skyshard’s needs.

An entire people’s needs.

And it would be more powerful than any mana chamber Raiko stepped foot in back on Islegard.

“Even with the other Skyshards supporting us, we’re dropping faster than we can replenish. It was a different story when the Maelstrom was constantly assaulting our barrier, but that’s long since stopped. Now all we get is the occasional chunk of stone from a drifting isle or Skyshard.”

“Talk to–” Raiko began.

“Ryan and Henry, already on it!” Lenal turned away and headed after the two men who were still bickering.

As the days passed, Raiko sculpted the land to form habitable areas with defensive ridges and hills. She carved out areas to accommodate the growing landmass that was Sil’mara. It was slowly becoming a place of pristine nature interspersed with homes, drinking wells and winding flagstone paths.

New Tiles formed as the Skyshard’s level rose. One that she was particularly fond of.

Snaking boulder strewn rivers fed a staggered series of waterfalls that pooled into a wide basin. The [Mistfall Tile] was plentiful with giant fish, elemental water crystals and colorful herba. Ingredients that were excellent for crafting. Mana potions were made from the [Blue Herba] and the [Prism Scales] from some of the fish turned into enchanting inks.

Raiko was getting that much closer to evolving her Profession.

It was a place that Haman frequented. It was no secret that pobuls loved to swim. Often when he was down by the central basin, he practiced his Geomancy.

He didn’t like people watching him train his magic much. Of course, he always made an exception for Raiko. And much to her displeasure, Xero too.

It seemed the two of them had long since developed a master and student relationship.

With Haman being the unlikely master.

***

Kale, Sam’s closest friend, discovered a Profession of his own. It was because of his hard work that Sil’mara was able to build so many homes and buildings.

As a Mason, Kale worked with stone as easily as a sculptor with wet clay. He could mold the stuff with a bit of mana and some effort.

It was largely thanks to Kale that their homes took on refined qualities that were lacking up until that point. Bal’daz did a great job, but he was only one demon.

With Kale’s new Profession being power leveled with the sheer quantity of stone the Miners were excavating daily, he was able to create miniature works of art in days.

As he leveled up, those days turned to hours. In less than a single cycle of the sun and stars, Kale could create a small stone villa suitable for a family of 4 with room to spare. Each with red-tiled roofs reminiscent of his favorite architecture in all the world: Roman.

He had always wanted to study architecture, and he was a huge history nerd. Sam used to tease him about it good-naturedly, just as Kale teased him about his obsession with historical martial arts using period armor and weapons.

With his legs working again, Kale was never one to stand still. He was constantly touching up previous creations to bring them up to the standard of his newest works.

The things he could achieve in this new reality never ceased to amaze Kale.

Villas went up all over the hills, not too unlike the many hills of ancient Rome. Kale worked with Bal’daz, Ryan and Henry, as well as the rest of the leadership of Sil’mara to make proper areas for every neighborhood.

Gone were the days of huddling in tents or under protective shells. Much of the earlier creations that Raiko and Bal’daz had made were repurposed for inducting new members of Sil’mara.

Kale knew that things were moving fast around him, but it only struck him just how fast things had changed when he looked out from the roof of his latest villa.

Sil’mara’s old palisade of aged ironwood trees was gone. They only existed in a few places, namely the lumberyard outside the workshop where Kai turned the massive tree trunks into boards and beams.

While Kale would be the first to extol the virtues of stone, it was not the only material available. The more Kai and his little army of would-be carpenters pitched in, the more buildings they could create.

In place of the palisade was a half-constructed monstrosity of white [Stellar Stone]. A deposit of ultra-hard material that glittered like starlight at night and was extremely resistant to mana.

While the mana-resistant nature of the stone was beneficial for defense, it also made it much harder to work with. Even with Kale’s skill, it took him a long time and vast quantities of mana to create the blocks for the wall.

It had come as a surprise to his younger self when he learned that most fortifications and stout defenses were little more than compacted dirt pressed between walls of stone or wood.

Raiko made the collection and compaction of dirt a breeze, while magic and strong workers made the erection of [Stellar Stone] walls a cinch.

Though Kale had only managed to convince Raiko to create 3 of the 7 hills he wanted to emulate from ancient Rome, he was pleased with the progress. Hundreds of people now had homes. Homes that would have been impossible to find at the same caliber and price point (free).

Hawai’i was one of those places that Kale knew he would never be able to afford a home. With house prices approaching 7-figures for a run-down shack, what Kale could create with his bare hands seemed like an even greater miracle.

Lenal could etch runic designs onto some of the stones, changing their properties. With a simple application of mana–something nearly every person was capable of–any resident could alter the interior temperature of their home.

Kale was excited to get some glass in place, but for now having a roof over everybody’s head and some measure of privacy was a vast improvement over anything that they had before.

Until then, the wooden shutters Kai devised would work just fine.

It was a major step up over the shitty apartment that Kale had back home. His own estate was palatial by comparison, something that Raiko had insisted he create as the head Mason of Sil’mara.

His balcony overlooked the first hill, as yet unnamed, that housed all the original members of Sil’mara and its various Lords and Ladies. He had offered to make a grand estate for Raiko, but she turned him down.

Their comically tiny castle was situated at the height of the hill with plenty of ground cleared around it for when it eventually grew to its full glory.

Kale rested his elbows on the decorated balustrade. His gaze swept across the new city of Sil’mara. Though it was less than half constructed, he could see where there would be arenas and apartments. Shopping centers, the mercantile quarter, and so much more shimmered like ghosts in his mind’s eye. The roads of Sil’mara would be paved in [Stellar Stone] so that they gave off a glittering starlight at night.

As soon as they were finished with the first wall.

Chompers chased after a group of racing mandragoras, trying to herd them again. The smithing dullahan in his leather apron and a hammer on his back was quick to follow after his companion.

The Sil’marans, gathered around for the impending luau, watched them go by. Some of them used to be Never Levelers that now looked at the creatures with less mistrust and more fondness.

More than half the Never Levelers had seen the value of levels, but it was slow going for the remainder. They found ways to pitch in, though Kale wondered if it was only to avoid being ejected from the miracle of civilization they found themselves in.

I sure as hell wouldn’t want to miss out on this, he thought with a smile that slipped as soon as he remembered their missing member.

The King.

Whenever Sam returned, he was going to find his new home vastly changed. And for the better.

I hope I see you soon, brother. I can’t wait to show you all the new things we’ve made.