Tect slept for nearly a full 24 hours. When he woke up he walked to a nearby stream, drank the cool water, and washed the dried sweat from his body. His chest still hurt like hell, but he could breathe and move so he was good to go. Standing by the stream he began the stretches he had only just begun before his accident. The warm mana radiated through his chest relieving the tightness and pain. After 30 min he had to stop as he was once again covered in sweat.
Tect washed himself again then sat cross legged by the stream as the cool morning air dried his body. Tect began to meditate, focusing on his breathing slowing his heart, then he pulled a ball of mana from his core and began to move it around his body, slowly at first and then more rapidly. Once he had a steady rhythm going he split the ball in two and began to rotate them while making sure they were always directly across from each other.
Tect had seen a memory from Azulak about this type of meditation that was supposed to help with mana control. What he was doing now was considered the entry level, most goblin children would begin doing this at a young age. The higher levels required the student to make much more complex patterns and shapes. After splitting the ball into 4 and rotating them all Tect began to have a headache and needed to stop. He lay in the cool grass under the shade of trees listening to the stream for hours while he recovered from his mental fatigue.
When he was finally recovered he walked over to a nearby tree and using strips of leather tied a deer hide to it. Then stuffed the hide with grasses. This was to be Tect's training dummy for the time being. Tect began to circulate mana into the glyph in his right hand. He charged it for maybe 10 seconds, then lightly punched the tree. The whole tree shook but was undamaged. He did this many times that day, slowly increasing the time but still charging at a snail's pace. Tect was not worried about how fast to charge it yet, he needed to get a feel for the proper amount of charge. So far he took 2 minutes to charge before he heard the wood crack. This amount of charge was equivalent to about 10 seconds worth of charging at his full rate. That's where he stopped for the day. His arm was very sore and his knuckles were red and might even blister later.
Tect spent 5 days doing this routine. By the end of it he was able to shatter large boulders after 30 seconds of charging and needed about 5 minutes between punches to properly regulate his mana and begin safely recharging.
"If you charge both glyphs each time you are able you can throw 2 punches every 6 minutes, which isn't bad at all. Once your body is stronger, your mana control is finer, you can do more. I wish I knew more glyphs but unfortunately I don't. Dragons aren't built to use them. We don't have mana cores, our mana is stored and processed in our bones and we don't draw it out like you do. Still if we can find some of the old recorder's crystals we may get you more. The old goblin strongholds used to be full of recorded knowledge."
Tect shrugged, "Even if there aren't any left, I can always learn traditional physical enhancement techniques. I would love it if we could find crystals related to other forms of knowledge though. If we could learn the old cultivation techniques we could make the goblin kingdom an agricultural powerhouse."
Azulak laughed, "There are crystals with the knowledge of killing gods, and you want to grow carrots. You are truly and odd being."
Tect Shook his head, "Killing Gods doesn't bring peace. Growing carrots doesn't cause wars. I'll always take the carrots."
Azulak sighed, "When you turn carrots into gold through trade then carrots can most certainly invite war. Too many greedy people will covet what you have, even if what you have seems like nothing, to a poor man or a starving man it can seem like everything"
Tect also sighed, "I guess that is true. Maybe no matter what we do, eventually the world's hate for goblins will drive us towards war."
"Yes, I'm afraid that no matter the circumstances, the differences between people will eventually cause conflict. Your ancestors fought wars over resources, over religion, and even over culture. The Humans and Elves regularly engage in territorial disputes, the dwarves are so damn stubborn and prideful they have had clan wars over spilled ale. I'd even go so far as to say that the longer people are at peace the more they crave conflict."
"What about your people Azulak, are the dragons the same?"
"Dragons are sometimes much worse. We are all very territorial, some dragons form clans and occupy territories that are massive, some dragons live alone and have tiny territories. Dragons with different needs can cohabitate, for example, Fire Dragons and Water dragons. At sea a Water dragon's territory may encompass many islands, and each island may belong to a number of different types of dragons. As long as none of them try to assert authority over the water then they tend to live in peace. Or it may be a symbiotic arrangement, Forest Dragons tend to be snotty know it all's and highly territorial, but have been known to actively invite smaller species of dragon's to live with them. They enjoy the company of the smaller creatures and don't have to worry about the amount of food and space they need. But, the second a green or black dragon enters a forest dragon's territory they will fight to the death. A green dragon's poison and black dragon's acid will kill the forest. Forest Dragons draw their power from the forest, the bigger the forest, the more powerful they become. So they will die to protect it. Some dragons are so territorial they will kill their own offspring. So no race is immune to the urges of violence."
"I see, I guess that in the end peace is just a dream. We get a taste of it sometimes, but it's always just slipping away when we think we finally have it."
Tect sat and considered these things for a time then stood up. "Right now my clan knows peace, which means next comes war, and if I can't prevent it then I'll be damn sure to win it."
Tect grabbed his sword, strapped it to his side and walked towards the mine. When he reached the split he took the left downward sloping path. He walked forward with confidence and determination.
The slope leveled out after 200 ft, he was now in the second level of the mine. The path split left and right, carved into the cave walls were signs. The left sign said Mine Level 2 Low quality energy crystal deposits and refining
The right sign said, Entrance to Level 3 Low quality energy crystal deposits, low grade Iron Deposits, Low concentration Manatite.
"We need to clear level 2 and assess the condition of the refining equipment. There were tools and equipment stored there in spatial lockboxes as well so if it's not too badly damaged then you should be able to repair it."
Tect nodded and took the path leading right. The tunnel wasn't long and Tect quickly entered a large cavern. At the far side of the cavern was a metal door similar to the control room door. Tect cautiously entered the cavern, the hair on his neck was standing on end, and his sense of danger was off the charts.
As Tect reached the center of the cavern the sound of cracking stone came from above him. Tect didn't have time to think, the sound was directly overhead so he immediately dove to the right. As Tect's shoulder hit the ground a massive chunk of rock smashed into the floor where he was standing.
Tect had just gotten back to his feet when the largest elemental he had seen yet uncurled in the center of the cavern. It turned its head toward Tect, Its too small eyes glaring at Tect with malice.
Tect began charging the glyphs in his hands, the shortsword left at his side. The creature charged forward roaring. Tect dodged to the right and the creature skidded past. Once it came to a stop it turned and charged again. This time as Tect dodged he threw out his fist striking the left shoulder and hip of the creature causing it to fall to the ground screaming in pain. Tect quickly circled to the back of the creature, drew the short sword and plunged it deep into the weak point on the neck.
The creature crumbled away leaving behind a pink crystalline sphere.
"This one was eating quartz, it made a rose quartz core. If you get this polished, many people would buy it for its beauty."
Tect pocketed the core and walked towards the door. Once he came near the red crystal by the door flashed. "Welcome Administrator Tect." The door then swung open. Inside was a massive machine, many of its parts hung loosely or littered the ground.