NOVEL NEXT Chapter 208: Is Five Enough?
As Geth looked over the Grimoires floating before him, he couldn't help but admire how intricate Albus and his citizens made the system.
He could see that most of his team's Skills were variants of some base Skills that he'd already seen. The Talents also seemed to fit each of their "User's" personalities.
'Albus, just how long did it take you to set the Formation for this system up?'
'It took a little more than a decade, with close to 1000 of the best mages, historians, and Formation architects. The cities that I showed you were part of the Formation.
Once we reached a certain point, the Formation began growing independently, adding things we couldn't even have dreamed of.'
...
....
'Isn't that a bit dangerous?'
'It isn't something we could help. We closely monitored the expansions, but the design, quite literally, took a life of its own.
The Formation we sacrificed our life force to create was simply the centerpiece of a much greater entity.'
'I see...'
Geth took a moment to recall how massive humanity's final stronghold was.
'That entire place was part of the Formation that caused this...'
It wasn't like anything could be helped at this point, but that information further enlightened him. He turned his attention back toward the information on the Grimoires, ignoring their intricacies.
Aside from Geth and Filthy, the others were chit-chatting about their abilities and asking how they worked. Geth made sure that one of his selves was listening while he was memorizing the information.
'Memorizing it and being able to recall every detail swiftly in the heat of battle are two entirely different things... Maybe...'
Geth closed his eyes and shifted into his mental sphere. He flew to the center, where the concentration of Mana was the highest.
"My Wisdom is currently high enough for me to summon a dozen selves, each with the processing speed of an average Human..."
Geth looked around his mental sphere at all of the things he still needed to study. The information was here, but that didn't mean he understood it all.
"No. Decisions will have to be made faster than that."
He promptly summoned five of his selves, dispersing a half dozen from his mind. The last he left free to roam the grounds.
Once the five arrived, Geth had them absorb the inflow of Mana pouring through the Immersion Formation. The effects were instant.
It wasn't life-changing, but at the cost of a mere 5 MP/second from his regen, it was as if he were only expending the Wisdom for keeping four of his selves out.
"This works. I'll still keep one-third of my processing speed, leaving me with 400%. Each of these will run at 200%."
The five Geths made him think of monks meditating under a waterfall. The liquid Mana washed over them, causing them to emit a profound blue aura.
After arranging their seating for the best results, Geth accessed his memories. His selves had been hard at work, organizing all of his knowledge into a simple and accessible database.
"I feel like I've become a walking computer."
He shook his head and accessed his memories through a self-made display. After scrolling for some time, he found a folder with the Grimoire information from each of his friends.
He clicked on their images just like one would a file on a computer screen. Ten exact replicas of his friends and his own Grimoire appeared, hovering regally before him.
With a flick of his wrist, the Grimoires relocated themselves around the center waterfall. Each of his selves were responsible for monitoring two Geimoires at once.
With this setup, he could easily monitor everyone's Health, Mana, Skill usage, and cooldowns.
"Hey Albus, you around?"
Albus materialized in front of him almost instantly, as if he'd been there all along.
"Of course."
"I have a question about the other's Skills... Or rather, my own. Why don't I have cooldowns like the others? Up until now, I didn't even realize they existed."
Geth could clearly remember spamming his Mass Restoration spell against the Undead creatures. If there had been a cooldown, he wouldn't have dared venture into the Skeleton Dungeon solo.
"Hoho, I feel it's a good thing that you noticed."
Albus ran his hand down the long white beard that embellished his chin. His eyes gleamed as he turned and pointed toward the Runes that floated above them.
"You didn't quite learn magic like the others, did you?"
Geth was a bit confused.
"I didn't?"
Albus shook his head.
"You did... and you didn't. There are a few significant differences between your mental sphere and those the others possess.
You went through the rough process of being rebuilt by the Mana, as did our ancestors when they first started using magic to increase their power.
As such, you are able to get more from it. The 'Elites' went through a similar process in our society, but there is no point in explaining the procedure.
What you need to know is that the Mana acts friendlier toward you, and it's easier for you to study. You've even been controlling the Mana in your mental sphere since the beginning... that's the main difference."
Albus gestured for Geth to follow and flew up to one of the closest Runes. Geth followed behind, hoping for a better explanation.
"The 'limiter' that should have been built into your sphere was never placed."
"Limiter?"
"Something that we used for many years in newborns and aspiring young mages. There would be a limit to how often you could cast a spell.
This kept the Rune from overloading and melting the mind. You shouldn't need me to tell you how painful that experience is.
There was no chance for other Humans who overloaded a Rune. With no mental sphere protecting them, they would die instantly or even become invalid."
Geth shook his head. He remembered all too well the pain from his mental sphere cracking.
"I understand. But, isn't the limiter making humanity weaker?"
Albus nodded.
"It is, for now, but it is also giving those who wish a chance to learn. Humans have close to sixteen months to prepare for the final merge."
Albus looked at Geth. Sadness could be seen in his eyes.
"At that point, the Grimoires will cease to be of use."