Universe's End

"Phew," Rory wiped his brow, the slight nerves he'd had instantly absolved. "I was hoping for this, so I'm glad it didn't surprise me."

Grand Crafts were, in general, far less special than the name suggested. They were like any other form of craft, except they required a unified creator capable in multiple fields. They made for extra potent items, but they weren't some sort of mythical creation beyond comprehension, something he'd long since come to understand with the pearlescent cores he'd made.

The mechanical modular gem was much the same. He had already shaped it by nature of the mechanical modular gem needing to be, well, modular, but there was still mapping and linkage to handle. Unlike gems in the past, which were a single unified map of convergence points, the mechanical modular gem was more like several sub-gems all connected at singular points-

Or so I hope; otherwise, this is going to balloon in difficulty by a LOT.

-that could be operated to change the 'main' gem function, from barrier, to spin, to room, etc. In a way, it was like having a group of islands that were connected to one another by a singular bridge crossing from island to island. What the specifics of each island were didn't matter, just as long as that single crossing connected.

Or something like that. See, this is why I could never be a proper teacher: my metaphors and analogies go all over the place.

Of course, there were some rather specific drawbacks; it would likely need frequent repairs, and its general potency would be worse than a niche-specific gem.

But if he didn't want to constantly burn through gems where they were overkill, it would be perfect.

"Once I actually map it," Rory sighed to himself before turning around and facing the scourge mites that were shivering in his presence.

"Oh, come on, I'm not that bad," Rory said to little avail. "Your younger brother is probably having a great life after all."

Because it's a bloodline guardian now, but they don't need to know that.

The mites, evidently, weren't convinced, still keeping as far from him as they could.

"Wow, talk about unappreciative," Rory snorted before shaking his head. "Anyway, I don't have business with you all right now. I've got to get this bad boy all set up, and then it's off to the mines."

The mines, of course, were a location Rory had only ever seen from the surface. Glancing at the map overlay that he pulled up, it was obvious what the 'mines' were, the former home of the local Territory Alpha.

Well, past tense for both the fate of its home and the fate of it.

Given that his armor was made from some of its remains, that much didn't need much reexamination.

But anyway, chores first, then on to exploring.

The trip over to the mines was far from what Rory expected as he sat in his chair, watching the forest casually pass by beneath.

I can't believe they really kept using this old system.

Once upon a time, Rory had made a highly primitive version of a cable car that could lug things from the Maw over to Ehkorrus by passing along some alchemically crafted vines, even if alchemy of that type didn't officially exist at that point. Decades had passed since then, and in particular over the last six decades spent within the floating volcanic isles, Rory had the convenience of his inventory, never having to consider anything too clever for moving resources around.

Ehkorrus hadn't had that same privilege, needing to puzzle out ways to move people and things from point A to point B efficiently.

Thus, the revitalization of the treetop cable system.

I'm going to have to ask around more about the details.

All Rory really knew was that intermixed between the trees were large poles, from which hung silver and copper-colored vines, that carried along small cabins. If it weren't for the cable-carried cabins, someone might not even notice the system in place, blending in amongst the trees.

I wonder what's up with those vines.

Seated within the small cabin, the trip only took a few minutes. He could have made it there faster by simply running, but his curiosity had led him to board one such cabin.

It was a nice view at least.

Arriving at his destination, it looked nothing like what had once been the rolling hills of dug-up earth left behind from the tunneling activities of the Tyrant of Earth and Scales. It could have been mistaken for an industrial mining site from anywhere on Earth, minus the heavy machinery, people coming and going with pickaxes, shovels, wheelbarrows, and other things you'd expect from a mine site.

Now, I wonder if… Oh, there he is.

There was one man in particular that Rory was looking for, whom he'd only met once during the Apostolos clan get-together.

The man in particular was directing several people Rory had no recognition of, as Rory himself made his way over. Noticing him, the man's eyes widened, saying something to those he was discussing with before jogging over to meet Rory.

"Founder Rory," Isaac, Apostolos's son, greeted him.

"Ehh, better than Lord Founder, at least. Mr. Rory is fine."

"Apologies," Isaac said, shaking his head. "It's still all a bit much."

"That's fine. How's the new pet doing?"

"Uhh, fine?" Isaac crossed his arms, thinking for a moment before sighing. "My sister says her kids love playing with it. You'd think it was a cuddly little thing."

"Hah, isn't that so?" Rory chuckled as Isaac's face turned down for a brief moment.

"Is, uh, is something wrong?" Isaac asked, leaning in.

"What? Oh, no. I just never got the chance to properly check this place out when I killed the Territory Alpha squatting on this land. Quite a bit of development here."

Stolen novel; please report.

"You'd bet," Isaac said with a nod. "As useful as the Maw is for resources, the resources of the second floor have long since been used up, with only a few minor resources respawning, and the third floor still isn't something we can easily push deeper into. Not the case here —the earth below is littered with valuable ores, minerals, and such. We've been digging it up for decades now, and we still find large deposits."

"Glad to hear."

"And, well, the other thing." Isaac leaned in with a whisper.

"Other thing?" Rory asked, confused.

"Yeah, my father didn't mention it to you?"

"No?"

"Well…" Isaac frowned once more before sighing. "Well, I already said as much as I did; no point in backtracking now. Follow me."

Doing so, Rory trailed behind the younger man as he made his way toward what seemed to be the 'command center' of the entire operation. It wasn't huge, but it still stood out. Turning around, Isaac nodded to the door.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a few minutes. I'd invite you in; in fact, I could give you a tour, but it's not really very interesting. All function, no form."

"Fair enough," Rory responded as he leaned against the wall of the building. "I'll be right here, not getting into trouble.

Waiting behind, Rory continued to examine the surface of the mines. Scattered about were a few people who stood apart from those who were clearly working as miners or part of the mine operation, carrying varying weapons or bows.

Guards. I guess that makes sense. Without an active, powerful presence guarding the area, it would make sense for an opportunistic monster to try to muscle its way in on valuable land, maybe able to consume the natural resources to boost itself or something.

Of the guards, only a single one was tier six; the rest were all tier fives.

Which also makes sense. Tier sevens aren't crawling around everywhere here in Ehkorrus; you'd have to travel pretty far out for that.

Still looking around, only a few minutes later, Isaac returned, a slight huff telling Rory he'd been scrounging around for something.

"What was the hold up?" Rory asked, a slight chuckle in his voice.

"This," The younger man held up a piece of-

What in the world?

Before Isaac could say more, Rory snatched the item.