NOVEL NEXT Chapter 635: The Ominous Sign
Daniel chose to redeem two boxes. The first was from Rise of the Machine. His reasoning stemmed from his previous experience with the mana blip—a catastrophic event that rendered him and all mages unable to use magic or anything dependent on mana. To feel more secure, he decided he needed tools and assets that didn't rely on mana.
No, of course, he wasn't being paranoid. As a wise man once said, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket," and a prudent rabbit doesn't dig only one burrow. This was simply the behavior of a cautious man ensuring the safety of himself and his family.
The second box, naturally, was from The Ragnarok Tales of The Rebel God set. Despite the inability to actualize many god-type cards, the set still contained numerous items and resources that were incredibly valuable and unique to it.
For instance, Yggdrasil. He recalled Envy explaining this during one of her intense sessions where she crammed essential mage knowledge into his head. She had mentioned the persistent mana deficiency problem and how nearly impossible it was to resolve.
Part of the issue was that the world lacked gods capable of converting faith power into mana. Additionally, much of the natural mana-generating spot had been destroyed over the course of human history—some even obliterated during wars between ordinary men.
One viable solution was regrowing trees that could replenish mana, similar to the plants he cultivated in his base. And Yggdrasil? One Yggdrasil is like having the entire Amazon rainforest in terms of oxygen generation, but… in terms of mana generation. With Yggdrasil, Daniel believed the world could restore mana for the masses, eliminating the need to keep it a secret.
His motivation wasn't about seeking approval from the Hightower or other mages. He was doing this to strengthen the world he lived in. After all, his experiences over the years—whether dealing with interdimensional mage infiltrations or witnessing the sudden surge of shop points after Oceanos fired a full-power beam into the sky—had taught him to prepare for the worst.
Experience tales with empire
He couldn't shake the feeling that Oceanos' attack might have struck a distant planet, potentially sending the wrong kind of signal to some unwelcome guests. These intruders that may or may not come might pose a threat to their world, and Daniel wanted to ensure that the world was strong enough to withstand any such invasion.
Again, this called caution, not paranoia.
Daniel began rapidly opening the booster packs, revealing many useful items within. For instance, there were salvaging drones designed to scour through piles of worthless junk, identify usable materials, and process them into base components before sending them back to the factory for further refinement.
Among the cards he uncovered, two stood out prominently from the rest.
Card Name: Molecular Forge
Picture: A massive structure with swarms of salvaging drones hauling junk and materials into its cargo bay. The fiery forge hums with power, illuminating the dark sky with its molten glow.
Rarity: Rare
Type: Artifact
Mana Cost: 4 Non-Element
Description:
Tap: Exile any number of non-Spell cards from your graveyard. Place Material counters on Molecular Forge equal to the total converted mana cost of the exiled cards.
Tap, Pay 1 Non-Element: Remove any number of Material counters from Molecular Forge. Search your deck for a card with converted mana cost equal to the number of counters removed this way, then put that card onto the battlefield.
Flavor Text: The backbone of Nexus Prime's logistics and resources acquisition, this machine was engineered to deconstruct matter at the molecular level, salvaging and repurposing it for optimal use. Whether it's steel from a rusted hulk or steel from the blood-soaked remains of a fallen resistant, to the Forge, all materials are the same.
—
Card: Prime Bastion
Picture: A towering structure resembling a massive church constructed from black steel and metal. Its colossal height rivals that of a skyscraper, emanating an aura of imposing dominance.
Rarity: Legendary
Type: Unique-Artifact Location
Description:
Tap: Generate 1 non-element mana.
Tap Pay 8: Prime Bastion becomes a 12/12 Artifact-Creature with, When attacking or defending, the player may delegate the damage to any available target. Prime Bastion is still a Location.
Flavor Text:
The Last Bastion of the Machine, housing the main processing core of Nexus Prime. It can transform into a walking titan, becoming a nightmare for the resistance whenever it desires.
—
The Molecular Forge could help him with PR efforts. Earth has an overwhelming amount of junk, and many countries struggle to manage it, and often leave it in the landfills. This is especially true in nations with underdeveloped waste management systems. The Molecular Forge would simplify waste management and could even become a profitable source of revenue if properly implemented.
As for the Prime Bastion, he needed to inform Nexus Prime about it and decide where to place it. Perhaps it could be built in the new military district planned for an artificial island that would be part of the Atlantis Project.
Once all the cards from the Rise of the Machine set dissolved into motes of light and merged into his body, it was time to open a new set: The Ragnarok Tales of The Rebel God.
Daniel felt like he had become a child, excited, feeling like he's in a toy store. One by one, he quickly opened the booster packs to see what they contained. There were many cards he found interesting and useful, though none felt indispensable. In this box, he noticed there was only one Legendary card, instead of the usual three per box. It was clear the two missing cards were likely god-type cards, which were restricted by the ban list.
He didn't get Yggdrasil, the card he truly wanted. However, the one Legendary card he did receive still brought a smile to his face.
—
Card Name: Fafnir
Illustration: A massive red dragon with blue flames enveloping its colossal wings, soaring through the sky as it rains destruction and incinerates mortal structures below.
Rarity: Legendary
Type: Creature - Dragon
Mana Cost: 2 Fire, 2 Water, 3 Non-Elemental
Description:
Flying, Haste, Spell Immunity
Pay 1 Fire, 1 Water: Fafnir loses Spell Immunity until the start of the player's next turn and becomes immune to all non-spell-related damage until the start of the player's next turn.
Power: 8
Toughness: 7
Flavor Text: Fafnir, the magical dragon, is a master of both magic and physical resilience. It can transform its body into an ethereal form, rendering itself impervious to all harm except for magical attacks.
—
Now, he had a Legendary dragon in his arsenal—a dragon that could even transform into human form. As a boy, he had always dreamed of riding on a dragon's back. Unfortunately, the dragons in the Clockwork Enclosure skin were far too hot, and he worried that his ass and balls would end up well-done before he could enjoy the ride.
He hoped Fafnir could regulate his body temperature, allowing Daniel to ride him safely and fulfill one of his childhood dreams.
Setting aside these fanciful thoughts, he reminded himself to focus on reality. There was still much to take care of.
As Daniel moved to leave the shop, the Keeper called out to him. "Ah! Lord Emberweave, a moment, please."
Daniel paused and turned to face the Keeper.
"There are two things I need to inform you of. First, I need to resolve some... complications in the Starry Abyss. And please, don't panic—it's not your fault. Some idiot tried to gain unauthorized access to this place. It's nothing major. However, to prevent you from experiencing a mana blip, I suggest you wait here for a few minutes while I fix it." The Keeper finished speaking and vanished from the shop.
Seeing this, Daniel decided to wait. Since it was only a short delay, he didn't mind.
Meanwhile, in the Starry Abyss, the Keeper floated above hundreds of fiery red tendrils that were siphoning its power. Without hesitation, he teleported to each tendril, severing them with surgical precision. He worked carefully to minimize the disturbance to the world's mana flow.
In the real world, at this moment, all the mages across the globe were experiencing the longest mana blip in recorded history. It lasted long enough to cause numerous rituals, magical formations, and nearly all the mages' Sanctum Sanctorums to fail and collapse. This resulted in the tragic loss of many radical mages, who often conducted forbidden spell experiments in unsafe locations.
For instance, there was one Sanctum Sanctorum built deep underwater, about 2,000 meters below the ocean's surface. When it collapsed, the mage within was crushed into a bloody pulp by the immense water pressure. On the bright side, at least it happened so quickly that they likely didn't feel a thing.
On the moon, a crack appeared on the dark side of its surface. The crack slowly spread, but after a few seconds, it halted as the massive magic circle on that side of the moon began to glow brightly once again. However, the crack didn't fully stop; it continued to grow, centimeter by centimeter, slowly expanding. Eventually, the crack would spread across the entire magic circle.