Meanwhile, back at the base, Ben had no clue what Draeven and the others were up to—he was being busy. The base had expanded even further. Since he didn't dare to go past ten blocks in length without proper column foundations, he focused on widening it, stretching it to a full 20 blocks.
Ben also upgraded the warehouse, splitting it into two sections—one for materials, the other for workers. He built multiple floors, giving the workers a proper place to rest. Before, they just laid on the floor, blocking the roads. Now, with designated spaces, the warehouse was way more efficient.
Then, he took out another white gemstone and started creating more Krell soldiers and workers. The result shocked him. A red gemstone only gave him 1,000 mana, but this white one? It had ten times that amount. With it, Ben created ten more Krell workers—five assigned to digging, while the rest focused on expanding the base. They couldn't use his system's unique blocks for construction, but as long as the floor and walls were already created, they could work with them.
Ben also made three new Krell soldiers, planning to bring one with him while leaving the other two to guard the base. Now, the base housed 16 Krell workers, four Krell logistics units, and four Krell soldiers. Watching his growing forces, Ben felt deep satisfaction.
Unlike the ants, these were his own creations. He could already picture hundreds of them moving around the base, each doing their assigned tasks. And best of all—they had no personalities, no minds of their own. No mutiny, no rebellion, no problems.
"My beloved, I'm done. Where is the boat?" Elvira's voice came from behind. Her gaze locked onto the new Krell Ben had just created. "Ah, you made more of them. Good. We can use more hands."
Ben turned and saw something floating behind her—a box attached to a propeller, barely reaching a single block in size. He raised a brow. "Are you sure that's enough to push a boat forward?"
"Don't worry," Elvira said with a confident smile. "You'll see."
Ben didn't waste time. He pulled the boat from his inventory. "Here we go," he said, releasing it onto the white lava.
Despite letting go, the boat didn't move. Elvira took control with her magic. The machine behind her floated toward the boat's rear, and as it got close, it began expanding. Its mechanisms latched onto the back, extending down to the bottom where two propellers emerged.
On the part attached to the boat, Ben noticed a slot for a white gemstone, along with a few buttons—probably to control it. He was impressed. "So, you can make things smaller?"
"Yes, if I have the time," Elvira said, waving a hand dismissively. "But in case you're wondering—no, I can't use it in combat. Takes way too much focus and time to cast."
Ben folded his arms, glancing at the contraption. "I see… but are you sure it'll hold?"
Elvira scoffed, "Don't worry. This device doesn't just propel—it also creates a barrier to protect against the heat. So, it should be fine." She flashed a grin. "I even added a restore function. If it breaks, it'll absorb more mana and fix itself."
Ben let out a low whistle. "That's great, but it'll probably use a lot of mana. How efficient is it?"
Elvira shrugged. "How would I know? Let's test it out." She then opened her palm, making Ben raise an eyebrow. "The white gemstone."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Didn't I already give you one?"
Elvira huffed, "So stingy! I already used that one to make the device."
Ben looked at the machine, scrutinizing it. "I don't see any white gemstone on it."
Elvira's lips twitched. "You're such a stingy husband, my beloved." She pulled out the white gemstone from her pocket, showing it to him. "See? There's barely any mana left inside. Fine, I admit I used some to recover my mana too, but is that a problem? Isn't it better if we go at full strength?"
"Alright, alright, chill. I was just asking." Ben sighed, pulling out another white gemstone. He could clearly see the one in Elvira's hand had lost its luster—what white gemstone? It looked more like a piece of transparent glass. With a flick, he sent the new one toward the device.
The moment it entered the socket, a low hum echoed through the air. A light blue aura spread out, covering the whole boat before fading away. Elvira then released her magic, letting gravity pull the boat down onto the white lava.
SHHHH!!!
A loud sizzling sound filled the air as smoke rose from the contact. Ben and Elvira narrowed their eyes, waiting for a few moments until the reaction settled. Then, she jumped onto the boat, placing her palm over the gemstone. "It's not that bad. It spends one mana every two seconds. A single gemstone should last us at least five hours."
"Alright, that's more than enough." Ben nodded and jumped down, following her.
BAM!!! The Krell soldier also leaped down right after, shaking the boat violently.
"Gyaa—!" Elvira yelped, stumbling as she shot a glare at Ben. "Couldn't you have given me a little warning first?!"
Ben let out a chuckle. "Sorry, I forgot. Well, let's go." He pointed in the direction where the white lava was flowing from. "Head that way."
Elvira didn't respond—she was still annoyed about Ben being stingy and the sudden impact from the Krell soldier. Instead, she pressed a few buttons, and the boat slowly began moving forward.
Ben stepped onto the bow, one knee raised, grinning as he stared into the dark tunnel ahead. "To infinity… and beyond!"
"…What?" Elvira frowned, clearly confused.
Ben chuckled. "Nothing. Just seeing that black hole reminded me of a famous movie from my past. It was a kid's show, but it had a good story."
Elvira raised an eyebrow. "A movie? You mean some kind of entertainment?"
Ben thought for a moment before explaining, "Do you have made-up stories in books you read?"