21 percent? The number hit Seth like a physical slap. It didn't cross my mind it would draw this much power so early.
He sank deeper into the new command chair, the reinforced frame creaking faintly under his weight. The blindfold's neural overlay flooded his vision with cascading crimson alerts, power curves spiking, mana reservoirs hemorrhaging faster than projected. The workshop's ambient hum, once a soothing symphony of controlled creation, now carried an undercurrent of strain, a low-frequency vibration that resonated in his bones.
"Running low on power at this mid-stage," Seth muttered, forcing a casual drawl as he slouched fully into the seat like a man without a care. "Give me a break."
"You shouldn't have forgotten about that," Agatha said, her voice cool and edged with lingering irritation. She stood with arms folded, the faint cyan afterglow of her earlier mana still flickering at the edges of her silhouette.
"I know." Seth exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose beneath the blindfold even though he didn't need to. The scarred skin pulled tight across his knuckles.
"I thought you had a backup backup core. A third one." Agatha made sarcastic finger quotes in the air, her elegant brows arched high in mock surprise.
Seth gave a tired chuckle. "I can't use that. It's a last resort in case this core dies out completely. Activating it prematurely would throw the entire lattice into recalibration hell."
"I see." She turned her back to him, gaze returning to the shimmering spatial sphere. The nascent demiplane inside pulsed with subdued starlight, beautiful and fragile, like a soap bubble on the verge of bursting.
"Even if I were to use it right now," Seth continued, voice steady but laced with calculation, "not only would the spatial sphere need constant supply, but the whole dungeon complex would still demand baseline power. And I still have other critical systems to bring online, environmental stabilizers, defensive arrays. Shutting everything down isn't an option."
"I see now," Agatha replied, tone flat and unimpressed. She didn't bother looking back.
Seth's mind raced behind the blindfold. I still haven't laid the finishing layers on it for completion. What do I do? Stopping now will kill my momentum, maybe my morale too. The demiplane is so closs, its laws almost fully woven, its potential screaming to be realized. Halting progress felt like choking a living thing mid-breath.
He swiveled his head toward her, the motion sharp. "Umm… about that favor?"
"I never agreed to that," she shot back immediately, voice clipped.
"I just need you to help charge the first core," Seth pressed, leaning forward with hands clasped tightly, fingers interlaced in a rare show of earnest pleading. "It would be plenty helpful. A temporary boost, just enough to stabilize the draw while I finish the foundational layers."
"No." The word fell like a guillotine.
"Come on!"
"I said no." Agatha's eyes closed, her posture radiating finality. The air around her seemed to chill, residual mana condensing into faint frost patterns on the nearby orichalcum plating.
Seth sighed heavily and turned forward again, holographic readouts that danced across his neural feed. I tried my best. I don't like this, but I'm left with no choice, going with plan B.
"Wrap it up," he commanded, swirling his right arm upward in a decisive gesture. "The sphere is on pause. Shift the core to power-saving mode. I can't let it die on me and be forced to dip into core three."
The blindfold confirmed the order with a soft chime. Deep within the workshop's bowels, mana conduits dimmed, gyroscopic rings slowed their counter-rotation by a fraction, and the spatial sphere's expansion halted. Its surface rippled like disturbed mercury, the internal galaxies slowing their majestic dance.
I have no other choice than to procrastinate the finishing touches, Seth thought bitterly. Agatha's decision is quite stiff.
"Are you sure that's the right decision to take?" Agatha asked, finally glancing over her shoulder. There was something unreadable in her eyes, perhaps a flicker of reluctant concern beneath the anger.
"Why are you asking me that?" Seth retorted, pushing himself up from the chair with a grunt. "If you had helped me out with the core, I would have continued without issue."
"Uh, what was that?" Her tone turned sly. She cupped a hand to her ear theatrically. "I'm sorry, I still can't hear you, best you speak up."
Seth was fully off the chair now, rolling his shoulders as he faced her. "Argh, forget it. You're being unbearable."
"Well, brat," Agatha said, a smirk finally breaking across her regal features, "now you know not everything can go your way." The smirk deepened, sharp and satisfied, as if she were savoring a long-overdue lesson delivered.
Seth turned forward, his expression shifting into pure stoicism. The workshop lights dimmed briefly then brightened again in a momentary power fluctuation, but the background activities, drones repairing minor damage from the earlier shockwave, runes cycling diagnostic protocols continued with mechanical persistence.
What's next? His mind ticked through priorities with cold efficiency. Sorting pistons and the gateway. I can't leave it like this. After expanding it with inbuilt infrastructures, I'll need to build a portable pathway in.
"But first thing that needs to take place is the control central," he murmured aloud.
I can't use the main system for this phase, probably because it'll consume even more power. So I'll be building it myself, mixed with my own enchantments. A slow smirk crept across his scarred lips, the familiar thrill of creation cutting through the frustration.
Agatha caught the expression with a side-glare. "You look optimistic all of a sudden. Has the sanguine fever got you?"
"What was that?" Seth replied elusively, not missing a beat. "How about you keep your comments to yourself? I've got work to do."
"The sentiment is mutual." She turned on her heel with graceful precision, heading toward the reinforced exit. The click of her heels echoed sharply against the orichalcum floor. "And Seth, I'll overlook your shenanigans this time. But next time, there will be severe consequences."
The sliding door hissed open and shut behind her with a heavy pneumatic thud, sealing her out of the chamber.
Seth tilted his head slightly, replaying her parting words. What was she on about? He shook it off. There was no time to dwell on Agatha's threats when the demiplane hung in the balance.
He brought his focus back to the sphere, the massive glowing orb now stabilized in its paused state, its surface shimmering with latent potential. "Aid."
"Initiating mainframe provisioning," the synthesized voice responded promptly, carrying that familiar programmed paternal warmth. "Order acknowledged and processing."
"Good." Seth fixed his fingers together and stretched his arms forward, palms facing out, finger joints cracking audibly in the relative quiet. "Let's get the groundwork laid before the core drops any further. Aid, initiate sequence. Deploy all three hundred preserved construction drones into the spatial sphere. Have them ferry the modular foundation plating and illumination anchors inside immediately. Total autonomy once they cross the threshold, let's light up the plane."
"Acknowledged. Initiating deployment."
A heavy mechanical thrum echoed through the chamber as automated storage bays slid open along the far walls. Rows upon rows of sleek, dormant drones, multi-limbed constructs of reinforced steel and black iron flickered to life. Cold blue optical sensors ignited in perfect unison, bathing the workshop in an azure glow. They lifted off their racks in seamless, interlocking swarms, moving with eerie coordination. Each unit hauled heavy carbon-fiber foundation grids, compact luminescent spheres, and prefabricated composite materials reinforced with runic lattices. Like a living river of metal and compressed ingenuity, the hundreds of units surged forward in disciplined formation, crossing the shimmering event horizon of the spatial sphere and vanishing into the dark, waiting expanse of the demiplane.
Seth felt the procession with quiet satisfaction, the blindfold overlaying real-time telemetry: structural load distribution, mana leak rates, positional mapping inside the nascent realm. The drones would begin laying the first habitable layer stable flooring, atmospheric anchors, and the skeletal framework for future districts. It was progress, even if throttled.
Minutes stretched into a tense waiting game. The portal shimmered with a stable, rhythmic pulse, its surface reflecting the workshop's emergency lighting in hypnotic waves. Aid's internal logistics operated flawlessly behind the scenes, containerizing every component, frame, and processing node required for the central control hub.
"Inventory clearance complete," Aid chimed smoothly through Seth's blindfold. "Six containment arrays are secured. Heavy mechanized transports are synchronized to your movement signature. The gateway is holding steady."
Out of the automated staging bays, twelve massive industrial mecha machines emerged in synchronized pairs. Their heavy hydraulic legs compressed with deep, echoing thuds against the metal floor, sending faint vibrations through the chamber. Each pair worked in perfect tandem, carrying colossal reinforced carriage boxes packed to the brim with the core components of the future command hub: crystalline data cores, runic interface thrones, anchor pylons, and layered defensive matrices. The air grew thick with the scent of ozone and heated lubricants as the mechs lumbered forward.
Seth stepped into stride directly behind the mechanical vanguard, his boots clicking with purposeful rhythm. The blindfold fed him a constant stream of spatial awareness data, obstacle trajectories, power drain projections, even micro-fractures in the floor plating from Agatha's earlier outburst. Despite the core's precarious state, a spark of excitement kindled in his chest. This was his domain. Hands-on construction always felt more real than remote oversight.
"Reporting! Intruder alert!" Aid's voice suddenly boomed with urgency, cutting through the mechanical symphony.
Seth paused mid-step, one hand hovering near a mecha's flank. His scarred lips tightened. "Give the data analysis right after I get back!"
"Understood!"
He resumed his march without breaking rhythm, the smirk returning to his face with renewed confidence. The mechs' heavy footfalls synchronized with his own stride, a makeshift procession marching toward creation. "Now, let's go build us some new HQ."
The spatial sphere's event horizon loomed ahead, its surface swirling with contained lights and nascent nebulae. Seth didn't hesitate. He stepped through, the familiar tug of planar transition washing over him, a momentary sensation of infinite expansion followed by compression, like being born into a new universe. The workshop's chaos faded behind him as he vanished into the waiting demiplane, ready to carve order from the void with his own two hands.