Ebony's Fable

“Shove off!”

Ebony serial number 40,001 stood rooted to the ground. As the bodyguard and the person in charge of the two waiters SN. 39,999 and 40,000 he had more Will suited for combat. His two other selves were made of the same amount and density of mana so they could also stand their ground against this particular wolfman but they appeared dumber than 40,001 and followed instructions more tightly.

Having a greater amount of Will made it possible for him to order them around but it might also be possible that it was because he was made with the intentions to lead the other 2 waiters.

This outdoor restaurant was not going well. People thought they were an actual eatery but they didn’t serve drinks.

Many were uptight and stressed from battle, he already had to break apart 3 fights. And by breaking them apart, he physically tossed them away. They were a danger for everyone eating.

“Ebony, help me wash two of these pots and the ladles.” Ning Xin called out from her focus. Asking others to use their own utensils meant he didn’t have to deal with their dishes but the cooking utensils were another issue altogether.

“Okay.”

“Do you know where I pu-oh, it’s a Model…huh?”

“Huh what?” Number 40,001 was curious about Xin’s confusion.

Ning Xin looked between me, 39,999 and 40,000.

“Where did you go? Are you hiding in that shell?”

“Main body? I went to check on Dusk.”

“You’re not the main body?”

“No.”

“I see. Get me salt and my soy sauce mix number 48. I’ll wash, don’t need to get irritated with me.”

“What?”

“Hurry up.”

‘What was that about? Oh well.’ Ebony trailed away to search Xin’s bag for the seasoning she needed.

Just then, his neck slid off. He caught it mid-fall and placed his head back. His fellow workers straightened up, put the ladle serving and tong holding work down. They Flicker out of space and reappear above the kneeling 40,001. Both of them pincered the Elf that decapitated him and smashed their feet at his belly.

‘Damn it me, too distracted with Dusk that you left me with a level 412 Elf. Why am I so dull? This is bothersome, I should have tossed this guy away instead of leaving him stuck in the ground. Now he’s pissed and he knows I am my spell. That was a weird thought.’

Wooden roots blocked the waiters’ kicks and snapped their ankles before whipping at their chests.

‘He didn’t even move his mana. Plant or wood affinity, the roots protected him and 39,999 and 40,000 are too slow.’

“Hey, don’t damage or waste any food here. I did not imbue irrelevant thoughts into me. I am not as nice as me.” 40,001 warned the Elf. Some people cheered at the next fight that was about to occur. Some ignored them and continued eating and chatting, drunk or not. Others just gambled if the ‘ice golem’ could stand its ground against the next troublemaker.

They were a rowdy bunch.

“My money’s on golem-boy!”

“HAHA of course it is, we just watched him kneel for 5 minutes straight.”

“No way, didn’t you see earlier? The ice golem is just a summon and the caster isn’t even a summoner. A conjured spell. My ores are on Mr Elf. He looks like one of those Nobles.”

“Can you imagine if he lost to a spell without its caster here? HAHAHAHA!! He’s gonna go home crying! Disgrace of the family I say.”

“Someone go get his family here to watch!”

The loud cheers were from a table of Dwarves. The Humans and Beastmen kept their mouths shut and either ate and looked away or sneaked a peak or two between bites.

Mr Elf calmed down at the Dwarves’ rude remarks. The Dwarves probably hit the nail on the mark. He had nothing to show by beating up a few Models. He let the 39,999 and 40,000 go and the roots formed a staff. Harrumphing, he turned around and walked towards the Dwarves table. Swiping his staff up, he broke the table in two and sent the dishes into the air.

40,001’s spine chilled and he went as far as to burst a tiny bit of ice mana within his body to Augment himself with flames but not enough for flames to show on his skin. He charged and hugged Xin but she pushed him without any effort.

“No need to kill him, look, the Dwarves caught the food!” 40,001 yelled but the directed killing intent from Xin already caused Mr Elf to go into full defensive mode and he was in flight before anyone else reacted.

The rest of the diners including the Dwarves who caught the flying food with some spillage didn’t dare to blink. More like, they couldn’t move.

Ning Xin’s unadulterated killing intent for anyone or anything that tried to waste food, her food was not something Ebony could copy or recreate. Just like how she couldn’t use Will the way he could. Killing intent might sound like nonsense but most wild creatures and monsters could feel it. It was a matter of Perception.

Mixed with her overflowing Vitality, it had physical effects. Ebony hypothesized that Intent mixed with Vitality was akin to his Will mixed with Wisdom. It might even be one and the same and not to be classified separately. Hence, monsters with high Vitality tend to be able to put this kind of pressure on people or any other creature.

‘Hot damn, she’s not using any mana but I’m melting. Tier 4 Vitality-based enhancement is off the charts. She learnt this from the Trolls! Wait, if she learnt from the Shaman then wouldn’t she be casting AOE Vitality spells or something similar? That sounds like a damn Domain. I’m losing my only advantage? No, no need to panic. I can barely find another Domain mage, I don’t believe she can find a Vitality Domain user to teach her. Does her mother or father’s books contain anything of the sort? Not that I know of.’

“Your body temperature is going to ruin the food.” So he said but his two waiters kept the temperature down with air conditioning.

Mr Elf didn’t stay for long.

Numerous diners ran away with their plates and bowls.

None who remained dared to be rowdy and they held their bowls firmly. With a little shivering whenever they closed in on the stove where the waiter boys were scooping soup and pinching steak onto plates with tongs. 39,999 and 40,000 both had 8 arms and handled numerous utensils as if being ambidextrous wasn’t good enough.

“You.” Xin wiped her hands and looked at 40,001.

“You’re not a normal Model are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have emotions.”

“Uh huh, then? Oh. Are you saying the other models don’t?”

“They don’t.”

“I have to go back to me.”

“Don’t go. Don’t you want to see how much different you can get compared to you? You’ve been reabsorbing Models more often these days because of your experiment with Will but this is the first time something feels different.”

“Good idea. How different do I feel?”

“Like part of you is missing but everything else is more prominent.”

“...yeah, I understand those words but not when they are put together.”

“They are not blocked by a lake.”

“Say that again?”

“You are like an open book now. No water covering you, a portion of you.”

“I see. Keep me updated.”

‘Hypothesis 1, I do not have Perpetual Tranquility Spring on my models. The portion of me is all that my main self imbued in me. I do not have Meditation running, so nothing is washing my thoughts or personality away. Information to back the hypothesis up is not present, check with myself. New priority, priority 3 - gather personal data.’

Ebony 40,001 stretched his neck and looked up. An arrowhead the size of a car smashed him to ice dust.

And then nothing.

❅❅❅

“Feasible?”

“I need a few samples to do the math, help me double-check later. Don’t disturb me anymore, as interesting as this is, it's a side project for me at best. I already upgraded a functioning brain before, it wouldn’t do much for my preparation.--Nevermind, got it. Scrap the idea. It’s not feasible. Organic matter requires sustenance. Food. Compressing millions of brain matter would mean you have to feed it that much, even with my most efficient energy conversion runes. You should know,” Kong Jing didn’t even pause for two seconds mid-sentence before shutting me down.

“I know, my stamina regeneration tapers off after 2 weeks without food. My mana regeneration starts to drop after 3 weeks. Then I’ll starve to death. At least, when I was a Master.”

“Then what did you expect from asking me?”

“I wouldn’t know if you have a method to convert some other form of energy as sustenance.”

“As confident as I am in my words that I can make anything, I can’t make something out of nothing. Yet. I mean, your plan is not completely out of the question. I can think of something that can feed a brain of that proportions. There are many organisms that feed on mana to produce chemicals or sustenance so to speak. I could make a symbiotic brain that feeds each other after optimising them with runes. In any case, I can’t make it right now.”

“Care to share what your latest project is? You’re preparing it for your Evolution to King aren't you. Another huge Physique refinement or mutation project?”

“No, I’m not crazy enough to experiment on myself that much. Grimoire, that’s my current project.”

“Grimoire? Like, a book with spells?”

“Remember your first practice with runic spell scrolls? Yes, that. I’m compiling a grimoire that can be used by Unclassed to King. I’m sure you know Mark is not a mage, he’s a wizard. And I’m sure you don’t know the complications behind this but that doesn’t matter to us so don’t worry about it. Him being a wizard means there is a wizard spreading wizardry on Elva, I haven’t seen any other wizard so we don’t have to worry about the wizard-mage war going on. I’m going to make a grimoire that can make any wielder a strong wizard.”

“So anyone who has it can cast all types of spells?”

“Well, all that I know.”

“And it can record any new runes the wielder finds?”

“If I learn how to grow a spirit in a book. Look at your swords, budding spirits they might be but they aren’t growing are they?”

“Not noticeably.”

“Yes, I can make the grimoire incorporate new runic spells and improve whatever’s inside but It’ll be connected with me so I don’t need to make it automatic.”

“What’s so special then? Can’t you make that easily? And why make it usable from Unclassed to King if you’re the user.”

“My little brother, I can’t tell you all my secrets can I?”

“You’re right. I can guess. It’s connected with you but that doesn’t mean you’re the user.”

“Mm. I don’t use my craft for combat. You think it is easy because you’re thinking about spell scrolls, I’m talking about grimoire. A grimoire doesn’t disappear after one or two uses.”

“Hmmm. Ah, I see. You’re making a book that connects to your brain. Anyone who holds it has all your knowledge and can cast any runic spell you know. So it can be an empty book without any writing. That is interesting.”

“Yes, that is interesting. I didn’t think of that. Thanks for the idea little brother, you just made me busier. Don’t think so much about the ant brain, I’ll try to remember. I suppose it's not like you can do anything about it without me.”

After inadvertently making a wrong guess, Ebony was left alone.

“Hey ya! Friendly over here! I don’t care who or what is behind this mound of ants. Get your damn tree away! We’re trying to lay down some tiles!”

“Oh. sorry about that, Granite Halls?” Ebony dismissed the sound shield, he could perceive vibrations outside so he wasn’t deaf to the surroundings. He saw huge crowds of knights moving about, protecting a bunch of Dwarves at work but he didn’t think they would get to where he parked Dusk so quickly.

“Ya daft!? Hary up and get lost or we’ll report ya for sabo’taging Imperial defences!”

“Dusk, lighten up and start walking. Dial your range down to equal the output of half of my regeneration, I’ll feed you later. Focus on levelling skills, especially those lagging or new spells. Toss away the sealed ants they would come back for mo-”

'Did my Model just break? How do I know that? I’m out of range. Did my range increase or skill get a refinement?’

Ebony made sure that Dusk was moving and told the Dwarf who shouted at him for getting in the way of their construction that Dusk would not harm them if they didn't harm it. But if they did harm Dusk, well, they had eyes to see what would happen.

When he got back to the fortress and the camping spot they used as an outdoor eatery, he only saw Navin and a pair of Elves scolding two other Elves. One of them was the person who stopped him but didn’t want to speak.

‘Those two elves are strong. Their mana’s thicker and way more vast than mine. Above Christy and the one that shall not be named. Too bad I can’t even sense Vent but I suppose that means Vent is stronger in the aspect of stealth. Or stronger in every way. I mean, I know his mana regeneration is magnitudes more than mine or Gen’s combined.’ Ebony eyed the large arrow that dug deep into the ground.

Damaging the tiled floors that the Granite Hall family made was an achievement in and of itself, Ebony already tested that outside. It was highly resistant to both physical and magical forces. Since it absorbed magic and turned magic back to mana, overriding its magical resistance took a lot of pure power and quantity of mana.

Ning Xin was trapped in a cuboid translucent barrier. The work of the Barrier King.

“Lucretius, Evans. This shall not happen again. Head of the Evergreen family, bring your family back up. We don’t need you here anymore.”

“Human brat! Who do you think you are?! The Har’sib family might bend to you but not us!”

“Then break.” The pair of Elves on the ground was constricted by Navin’s mana like they were grasped by a large hand. Proud as a peacock, they were pushed back and slammed into the fortress wall. Squished between the durable wall and indestructible barrier, they were ignored.

“Nav, we’ll settle this with our own rules. That’s the only way they’ll learn.” The man who Ebony presumed was Evans didn’t even spare a glance for the Elves that were struggling to breathe.

The Elven couple had luscious green hair and were both extremely beautiful people. The man stood at a short 2.1 metres while the Elven lady was only as tall as Ebony was. Evans had terribly sharp features be it his jawline or nose bridge, he stood out amongst Elf’s usual androgynous features. The woman by his side gave off a similar vibe as Yvette the Life Queen, mature and motherly.

The beautiful people standing together allowed Ebony to confirm that Navin truly was the most handsome man on the planet. The statues of him did not do the Barrier King’s visage justice.

“How are you planning to do that?” Navin pinched the bridge of his nose. He might not have hid it well but he was exhausted and lacked sleep.

“...You understand our culture, what is your suggestion?”

“Have your Matriarch ban them from going back to your ancestral home for 2 centuries after reaching the ranks of an Emperor. If they ever reach such heights.”

“Sur-surely this is not that big of an issue?”

“They attacked people within our fortress in the middle of a battle. That is a low price to pay for you Elves for such a transgression. If the Evergreen’s relatives back home have any issues, direct them to Oplot. I couldn’t be bothered with how you run things in your ancestral home.”

Navin noticed Ebony and walked over. Patting his shoulder, “My apologies, I don’t mean to lock her up but she’s going to hurt people. Can you calm her down? She’s not exactly settling with this aura of hers.”

Ebony scanned the area. Her kitchen was destroyed. There were spills of soup with scraps of ant flesh about but most of the food did not survive whatever hit them. Broken tables and chairs with blood lay around but with no spectators nearby. Further away, within his range were healers working on diners.

‘Only 39,999 survived? But he’s mostly melted and barely has any mana left, I’ll take him back and make 40,002 later.’ He absorbed 39,999’s Will back and gained the memory of what happened.

‘Useless…the attack was so fast that 39,999’s vibrational and gravitational perception couldn’t catch it. It went by 40,001’s defences and Xin didn’t even react until 40,001 was crushed. Meaning her Intuition didn’t catch it in advance or her Intuition is dulled in her non-combat mode. Why does she even have two modes now? Does it help? Mentally speaking, maybe. It is rather hard controlling her strength not to break things around the house or hurt children.’ Ebony read the surviving memories and was stumped by the obstacle.

She was furious. About the cooking utensils. The kitchen. The waste of food. The uncalled-for aggression.

“I don’t see anything wrong with her meeting aggression with aggression.” Ebony spoke up.

“Understandable.” Navin nodded but looked back to the expressionless feather burning bright red and the unbearable heat trying to melt his barrier down.

‘Navin reacted fast so all is good and I think he dealt with it pretty well. Punishing them with human methods doesn't work well on Elves so using their own system is going to hurt more.’

“I’ll try but I don’t know how to calm her down, I’ve not seen anyone damage her cooking equipment. Bring her out of the fortress, I think letting her vent will be easier.”

“Once again, I apologise for this to be how we meet again. Thank you for showing up, I got reports about your tree. It's a massive help, just a little small in reach. And the reports about thousands disappearing, my seers told me about a Xeng space mage? Thank her for me too.”

“She might look for Yvette or you soon, or whenever she gets out of her zone. About Xeng support. She seems interested in this race.”

“So I’ve heard, some of the Xengs relish the opportunity of meeting the Tetramyths.”

“The what?”

“Tetramyths. This race of Ants as a whole, distant relative of the Goddess of War, Tetramyth.”

“Oh relax, the Goddess of War has so many kin that this is happening on hundreds of planets as we speak. She couldn’t care less until a real kin dies and the Saints will turn back the moment they decide it’s no longer worth the deaths. She probably doesn’t even know what all her kin are doing other than feed themselves.” Evans chipped in.

“Things aren’t looking good. They are ramping their efforts up instead of backing down. Did they find some natural treasure of value?” The woman, Lucretius, did not share Evan’s optimism.

“Navin.” Ebony interrupted them and got the Barrier King to let him out.

The perk of being with the Barrier King was that they directly phased out of the fortress’s barriers like a bubbling popping. Skipping past the customs as if he didn’t need to record his exit.

They went out of range of fighting soldiers and freelancers before he let the forge out. It was no exaggeration to say that the Knights’ armour would melt just by being near her at the moment.

‘So Navin has a way to breathe in these conditions too.’ Ebony was not surprised at the numerous methods some people had. He was not the only one who could think of bringing about more air within his lungs or something along the lines. It was rather obvious the Barrier King could protect himself from heat if he could trap heat within the cage he put Ning Xin in.

“Xin.” Despite his expectations, she did not go on a rampage.

“I’m not angry at the Ants. Thank you, Navin. And no, I was not trying to kill them. Just teach them manners but I might have overreacted.” She did her best to cool herself down and not melt the flesh and exoskeletons of the Ants around them.

It would ruin their use as food.