Homestead Survival

<05 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER , A+>
[Theo and Julia]
Theo and Julia awoke with the rising sun. They both ate in silence and then looked at each other. Theo spoke first, "Alright, so Monster Processor."

"Monster Processor!" Julia cried out in a fun tone. "We are gonna process all those monsters."

"Amen," Theo chuckled, "So I think that we should go through our stuff and find the highest mana density items we can to fulfill the required materials. And then have a discussion about what else we should include."

"Okay," Julia said, quickly recalling what was needed, "So we need one Solidified Mana, A Large Flat Slab of Metal, Wood, Stone, or something else, and Materials for a Frame for the slab. And then anything else we want to toss in."

"So, for solidified mana, the only thing that we have is the Crystalized Mana that Patriarch Karzun gave us," Theo said, and Julia retrieved it from her pouch.

"Okay, now what about the slab of material?" Julia said, looking around the Cabin at the stuff they had accumulated.

"I had a thought about that," Theo said, walking to where the chunk of warming Crystal he had broken off of the Spire on the Overlook lay. "What if we go get a bigger chunk of this and shape it flat?"

"We could do that," Julia said, and then caught sight of the large, flat, black Obsidian slab Theo had found, "What about that?"

"I don't know, it seems a little small. And we don't know what it is." Theo said. Julia walked up and Identified the slab of material.

"Alright, that is a candidate," Julia said.

Theo agreed, "So what about doing something made out of metal?"

"I mean, we could, but it would have to wait." Julia said, then paused, "We could use the boon that the Patriarch gave us to get a good slab of metal."

"I feel like that is not something we should bother the Patriarch with." Theo said, then shrugged, "Let's either do the warm crystal or the System Glyph Remnant."

"I vote for the System Glyph Remnant," Julia said and then turned back to the Cabin. "Now the frame."

"I mean, all we really have is wood," Theo gestured out the door to the trees outside, "or we could just use a big old chunk of the glowing crystal."

"I like that idea," Julia said thoughtfully. "Want to go get a big chunk?"

"Sure, we can look for anything else that might be better than what we have," Theo said, and they headed out the doorway of the Cabin.

A while later, Theo and Julia came upon the Crystal Spire. At roughly seven feet tall, the golden Crystal still emanated warmth and light. They basked in the light momentarily before Theo reached out and Identified the Crystal Pillar.

"I mean, sure, let's use it," Theo said, pulling his Master Tool out.

Theo and Julia spent the next hour breaking the Pillar in half; the top of the Spire broke into seven pieces, and the bottom stayed in mostly one piece, with some smaller parts falling off. Julia picked up the chunks of the top, and Theo stored the bottom in one of his Raw Materials slots.

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They walked back to the Cabin at a leisurely pace. When they got back, Theo took Crystal's massive stump out of his pouch and stared at it for a while. Then he had a thought; he imagined what he wanted to do to the Crystal, shaping it and carving some artistic details into it, and he felt Process respond, so he let it take over.

Again, Theo was struck by how his body seemed to move on its own. The Master Tool formed into a clawed chisel, and then his hands went to work. For an hour and a half, Theo thought to himself while his body moved, applying pressure as he used every muscle and point of Strength to shave off pieces of Crystal.

When he was done, a golden crystal podium was there. He set the System Glyph Remnant on top of it and placed the Crystalized Mana on top of that. Theo looked at Julia, "So what else should we add to it?"

"What if we add that Flesh Warped Core to it?" Julia said that Theo thought about it, pulled it from his Dimensional Storage, and Identified it.

"I don't know, it could be good, it could be bad." Theo said, "I do have another thought."

"What?" Julia asked.

"What if we include the Blueprint for the Monster Processor?" Theo said he didn't know if it was possible or recommended.

"I mean, that means we could not build another one later." Julia pointed out.

Theo nodded, "I know, that's why if we do that, I think I should also add my Master Tool to it."

"Isn't that bound to you, and isn't it like a big part of everything you are doing right now?" Julia said, a slight tone of alarm in her voice.

"I mean, yes, but I am curious as to what it might do. And if I can't exist without the Master Tool, then I feel like I have other problems." Theo said.

Julia was silent for a minute, "I really think that we should not do anything that drastic right now. Why don't we just do the stuff we have here, save the Blueprint, and we can build a better one later? Or we can toss the Flesh-Warped Core in there and see what happens."

Theo thought for a moment before nodding, "Alright, let's use the core and go from there."

Theo placed the Core on the pile and then picked up the Blueprint; he focused on the Blueprint, holding the idea of completing the Blueprint in his mind. A flash of Cherenkov Blue light with purple accents flashed, and suddenly, Theo and Julia were faced with a blue box.

As they read, a table was in front of them. The podium that they had intended to be the frame was reshaped and became a large, naturally shaped crystal; the System Glyph Remnant expanded and grew to be roughly four feet by eight feet. The Flesh-Warped Core began to pulse and grow, subsuming the Crystalized Mana and becoming the base of the table-like structure; it seemed to grow from the dirt through the Black of the System Glyph Remnant and cradled the Crystal.

"It's kind of..." Julia trailed off.

"Gross," Theo finished for her, "It looks kind of gross. But if it works, it works."

"I wonder if those Nodes will be useful," Julia asked, walking around the strange table.

"Well, there is one way to find out," Theo said, pulling out the body of the Mana Leach he had started to process in the Dungeon. It and its two wings went onto the table, and Theo tried to trigger the Process skill, expecting it to fail like it had last time.

Instead, some of the tentacles of the table unwrapped from supporting the Crystal and began to work with Theo to complete the processing of the Mana Leach corpse.

Julia watched in fascination. When Theo was done, she shook her head, "I don't know what to think. Either excitement that we can use this, or disgust that we now have a Hentai table of butchery."

Theo started laughing, and Julia joined him. Together, they began processing all the monster parts they had gotten in the Dungeon.