"We're lucky to get a Humvee." You say, "Just how many acquaintances can you exploit like that?"
"You have no idea."
With Chronos driving, you sit on the back seat, still in the state of unbelieving each time you throw your gaze out of the windows.
Knees trembling, for a hesitant moment there you are frozen overwhelmed. Ruins are everywhere, deepening their bond with the bearer of chaos. Flash, lightning, fires fade, ashes rising, sky ablaze. You can imagine someone dying then brought to a higher place. Some might lie down and wait in a hiding shelter donning a frightened face. Such is the view quipped in their form giving you the uncomfortable sneer every second this armored vehicle goes deeper and deeper into the unknown. The outside of the citadel is not just dangerous, but it strikes fear in every of its admirers.
A headless giant roaming without goals, the numerous plane-size airborne beasts searching for prey, a giant worm slithering the air up and down in waving motion, an enormous demonic warlock tearing another abomination with its fang, there are no serenity can be found in this state of time.
"They won't really attack us, right?" You ask.
"I already applied a stealth formation into this baby." She glances around the wicked sceneries, "Don't tell me that, you're scared?"
"Hah! Definitely not." Definitely yes, any normal modern human would shit their pants just by seeing this firsthand.
Holding tight the Proto-Microgun, you can only wait for this transport to reach its destination, whatever that'll be. You tried to close your eyes but you couldn't ever be asleep with all of the anguish and wailing of those forsaken creatures.
So instead, you close your eyes and spread your consciousness—it is farming time! Unlike back then where the liquid mana is in your blood untroubled to convert. This moving convertible is actually not a good place as it disrupts the living hell out of your nerves, though you are finally successful at converting one mana shape after many tries.
Few shapes later, you decide to rest due to heavy mental fatigue stretching out your consciousness more so than before.
Strangely, you notice there isn't any vast sign of desert after hours perceiving the harrowing sceneries.
"Chronos, I wonder where in the desert both of us fought the Calamity back then."
"Hmm?" Startles the driver, "Area 678?"
"Yeah."
"That one is more on the 'Blackhound Line', around three days trip from our current location."
Such a far location from your former hospital, now you're wondering what kind of transportation they need to retrieve you.
Not mentioning the diversity of this new civilization and their system, many are still following the old laws and some are a better version of it, but you can't help but think that maybe those races of diverse shapes and sizes are flocking under the same ceiling only because everyone is on the brink end of the road. The wheel of progress might be frozen motionless but the frost reminded you that any intelligent being resembling the pure ancient, having the genetic pancake inherited from a mindless chaotic ape species called a Human does give them social traits afterall.
Except Chronos, she is definitely not a human.
Then again, what are you? You doesn't have any unique trait or feature to differentiate yourself from the rest fantasy existence in this barren world. You're told that human is a rare sight in this era, yet people sees you and Chronos in casual manner. Unless something has been hidden from you.
After 8000 sheeps counting, you've arrived at your destination.
The starting opening of the crude dark hue forest, occupied by an alarming rate of giant variants of oak tree that might concern the minister of forestry with a side of migraine. It is on the polar opposite of the scenery on your haunting journey. In here, light was orchestrated by the waving leaves, conjuring a perpetual dance into the shiny liquid orb of dew on the rich soil with life. Yes! There are surprisingly numerous amounts of life here, there are bugs, worms, and flowers if it counts. Although the plantation itself isn't green, the gentle illumination against the grey bark until the scavenging roots has grandly emphasized the cruel beauty of this apocalypse.
It is beautiful but it's cruel, and everyone is possibly at fault.
Rejoice, you've arrives at Kauhu Forest.
You and your partner immediately occupy the absent ground with equipment, unpacking anything on the humvee's trunk and you're only following along not knowing what is what and why to how.
"You have a lot of jerky bags." You say
"Courtesy of myself."
It does make you wonder, are there even any farmland or animal factories that produce any kinds of meats in the first place, especially after knowing that everything is already on the point of up the bullock.
"Hmm, where did the meat even come from?" You curiously ask with a bit of innocence, playing along the role of someone who got memory loss.
"Huh." Tilting her head, she looks into her right eyebrows trying to think of something, "Good question."
You open the bag of endearing jerky, consuming it like a snack, "We're still in the post-apocalyptic state, doesn't that make you wonder how there are jerky packaged ready to be consumed like there is no self-conservation or something?"
There might be cannibalism, or it's the old monster hunting style but you're sure that those abominations are too corrupt to be labeled as edible.
"You have some sensible way of thinking for someone who lost her memories." She smirks, "I'm just playing with ya', anybody could recreate healthy lumps of meat if they got the equipment and laboratory and a single cell of an ancient stock animal."
"Woah." gaze still in awe, you take another bite of the jerky. "Doesn't that mean there is no food scarcity?"
Different from expectations, you thought that people were summoning food out of nowhere using magic, guess science still applies after all.
"Nope, maybe in some places, yes. Not all favor the idea of food made in a laboratory. Plus the equipment itself is expensive and there is no way in hell people will be waiting for weeks for the single cell to be a meat at the size of a hand." After finishing setting up the base, she continues, "This stuff was mass produced by some company, and with a lot of money."
Everything has been unpacked, now it leaves you two hands free snacking on the jerkies after the trip.
Chronos sits on the ground, fiddling with a weird propeller contraption in front of her, "Okay now, how is the breakthrough going?"
"Breakthrough?" You reply.
"The mana converting process."
You then explain the phenomenon of the gathered mana inside your mana sea.
"Pfft!"
"W-why laugh!"
"Ahhh, it's just funny that the mighty Long Leggy is talking about her discovery so enthusiastically like a child. You're supposed to be an asshole and hella' stiff, ya' know?"
"Well, I'm sorry if I'm not asshole enough to you."
She leaves the contraption and reaches for a small paper inside her backpack, "Guess it's time to teach you how to do an array, or formation, or whatever people call them."
Nonchalantly, she prepares the paper, a blue crystal, and a small device.
"Ah right, I forgot." She immediately retracts her action and goes to you, leaving the preparation behind.
Chronos takes your palm and begins pressing her index finger into the center. A jolt travels through your veins as it forces your consciousness to appear on your mana sea, it feels like being dragged under a car but with less friction from the road, definitely something that you don't want to feel again.
The vast drought lands with a medium pond of overflowing mana, the surroundings are still dry as ever.
Suddenly, three pink liquids drop from the sky of your mana sea, splashing and then sloppily restructuring itself into three small chibis resembling Chronos wearing a worker uniform and a safety helmet.
"Ahaha, they are cute right?" Says your partner from the outside of the mana sea.
Your consciousness inside pinch the cheeks from one of the chibis, it's soft like a retractable marshmallow.
"What do these critters do?"
All three of them began to reassemble the pond. Simultaneously, one of them is digging the land beside the mana pool with their small hands like a madman-mole filled with fury dense enough to destroy the anger-o-meter, stacking up enough death soil. The other two swim and dive back and forth with the soil as both of them begin to place it on the center of the pool. Although you're quite dumbfounded, they are cute while doing so.
It takes a while until a small plot of land in the middle of the pool reaches the surface. Just like a devotee being blessed by mother nature, a green grass with concentrated blue hue envelops the tiny island. A sapling miraculously sprouts and is already visibly growing to twice your size. One of the chibis is infusing the mana on the pool into their right arms, strengthening their muscles, and smashing the hell out of the still arising timber to get the wood.
Let's just call the chibis, Chrolings.
Chrolings acquired.
The imagery is overly surreal to see a cute Chroling grow a muscle into that akin of a bodybuilder, it will surely haunt you until tomorrow.
After being wrecked by an angry Chroling, the wood then regrows as if it was an octopus' limbs. The other Chrolings begin to do the same, again and again until they have enough wood and begin to forcefully craft many equipment such as wood shovels, wood hoe, wood axe etc—with their bare hands. The sharp tools are being put into the mana pool as magic formation appears out from thin air and now they have a working wood axe with sharp black material of enchanted mana concentration on the blade.
"What is this!? Minecraft!?"
After creating a plank to walk into the ever growing source of wood. The Chrolings then build a small hut and a hammock, giving themselves a commodity to replenish their strength with comfort.
"They will autonomously develop and help nourishing the inside and outside of your 'Mana Sea', neat lil' critters, right? They can also polymerize elements and even automate a whole mana circuit with thousands of blueprints! They can also control the pool formation for the biggest benefits! Not only that, they can also send a wave to the outside of your immune system, strengthening them, and being self aware of everything that happens outside! I can go on and on about their multi-benefits!"
"Do everyone have these tiny workers inside them?"
"Nope, this one is my sole creation. Those three will be yours from now on, they can also repel and arm themselves if there is any intruder." She smirks.
Regaining your outer consciousness, your body feels lighter than before.
Your partner then continues her preparation, "Your foundation will be made in no time, just practice your conversion."
You try to examine your palms, "What exactly is this 'foundation' you're referring to?"
"Your 'Mana Sea' is your headquarters for both storing and conducting mana activity. A foundation is a platform for everything, you will need a lot of exploring but before that—"
She cast something into the blank paper as it wafts vertically into the air, numerous detailed two-dimensional contraptions at the size of sand grains are being formed at the very moment. It shines in bright pink, emphasizing her identity as the marker.
"The coding of magic. Partner, seep this knowledge of 'Mana Circuit' into your very being."