WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom

Elvira stood still for a moment, her breath slowing as she let the silence settle. Her mind replayed the entire battle.

"At first," she said quietly, "the Krell Alpha's abilities were centered around transformation and mana absorption. Or in simpler terms—a perfect mana circuit. Something that shouldn't even be possible."

Ben, still lying on the ground, raised an eyebrow. "Right. The thing was adapting like crazy."

She nodded. "Exactly. But when it shifted into that smaller form—something changed. Its abilities became focused on shadow manipulation. At first, it could even alter the texture of its shadows. Make them act like rubber, absorb force. But…"

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Once it dragged us into that shadow domain, something was different. It could still shape shadows—but not like before. It lost complexity. No more shifting forms or unpredictable changes. Just raw, solid shadow."

Ben's brow furrowed. "So it didn't stop because it didn't want to—it stopped because it couldn't."

"Exactly," Elvira said, crossing her arms. "It wasn't holding back—it hit its limit." She looked back toward the place were the clone died. "And another thing... it acted more like a beast. There wasn't the same intelligence it had in the beginning."

Ben sat up, his body still healing. "So what's your theory?"

Elvira exhaled, then spoke slowly. "Its ability never changed."

He blinked. "Didn't you just say it did?"

"Let me finish," she replied, her tone calm but firm. "The ability was always shapeshifting. But in the first form, it shifted internally—absorbing mana and mutating its own body."

She raised a hand for emphasis. "In the second form, it began shapeshifting externally—bending the shadows around it instead of its flesh."

Ben's eyes widened slightly as the pieces fell into place. "You're saying... it wasn't just some evolving monster. It was using a source for all that."

"A relic," Elvira said, her voice steady. "I'm almost certain of it. Every Ravager we fought today had one. The one I fought earlier could control lightning and fire."

Ben narrowed his eyes, thinking back. "Mine had poison. And that last one—it seem to be able to manipulate the ground so probably Earth-based."

"That reminds me…" Elvira's expression turned curious. "Where are the other Krells?"

Ben shrugged. "Didn't you get access to the hive mind, too?"

Elvira gave him a look. "Do you forget? This body I took over was an Ant Queen, not one of your Krell."

Ben paused, then winced. "...Right."

"And the body's already changed—transformed completely into my race. An Aetheri. I can still access the hive mind of the ants, but it burns mana. I could do the same for the Krell... but it'd cost even more."

Ben nodded slowly. "Makes sense. I told the Krell to pillage the Ravager nests. But when that Alpha dropped the shadow domain, I ordered a full retreat." He cracked a grin. "But not before we left behind a few surprises."

"Surprise?" Elvira tilted her head, confused, as she stepped closer to Ben—now standing directly over his head.

"What do you think?" Ben grinned, glancing upward to meet her gaze.

Elvira's eyes lit up in realization. "Ah... you made them plant the rest of the explosive talismans in the base, didn't you?"

Ben smirked. "Not just there. A few more in spots they won't see coming. Might come in handy later. For now…" His gaze shifted to the half-collapsed castle, barely holding itself together, "We've got a base to rebuild." He pointed at the ruined walls. "Can you imbue that protection spell into the structure?"

"I can," Elvira replied, folding her arms. "But protecting something that size will eat up a massive amount of mana." She gestured toward the only building still intact—her mobile workshop. "Even with its reserves, look how much it lost during the fight. It's barely at half capacity now."

Ben sat up, eyeing the glowing mana core at the center of the workshop with suspicion. "Isn't that because it used most of its energy shielding itself?"

Elvira gave a small cough. "True… but there's no different with what you want to do."

Ben let out a heavy sigh. "Right. We'll need to haul all the white mana crystals from the mine back here. Every last one."

But deep down, he knew rebuilding the base the same way would be pointless. That battle had just been against Ravagers—and this was only the first biome. Who knew what kind of horrors lurked deeper inside?

His thoughts drifted. "Despite what the Alpha said, this biome is huge. There's no telling what's hiding at the far edges."

Elvira nodded. "How far have you explored this place, my beloved?" she asked. "Instead of patching this place up, why not push farther out—especially toward the opposite end of the Ravager nest? If those five had relics, they had to come from somewhere. I'd bet there's a ruin buried out here… and unlike that dungeon from before, this might actually be worth it."

"That dungeon…" Ben groaned at the memory, thinking of the frustratingly smug boss they'd barely managed to defeat. "The reward was great, sure. But damn, was it annoying." He paused. A new thought stirred. "Elvira… how many types of elements are there?"

"Elements?" she echoed. "Well, there's the common ones—fire, water, wind, earth, wood, metal, light, and darkness. But that's just the surface. There are more exotic ones too. I've read about 'spirit'—used in summoning. Might even be how Travelers got pulled into this world in the first place."

Ben's eyes gleamed. "Then it's possible relics tied to each of those elements exist out here too. And if we can get our hands on them…" He didn't finish the thought. He didn't have to.

If not for them, they could arm the Krell. Give them power. Unleash something greater.

Ben tilted his head, remembering something. "By the way, what reward did you get from that dungeon? I haven't seen you use anything new."

Elvira's lips curved into a sly smile. "Patience, my beloved. I just haven't had the right opportunity yet."

Ben recognized that look. Prying any more would be a waste of energy. With a resigned sigh, he pushed to his feet, brushing dirt off his tattered clothes.

"Alright. Let's get moving. We'll explore the biome—and find a way to level up." He still felt drained. But the workshop was functional, and he could rest there later.

Elvira, already walking beside him, turned suddenly and said, "Before that, I want to talk through some memories from your last life."

Ben raised a brow. "Anything specific?"

"There's plenty we can use—things that'll help us now," she replied. "For example, how radar works… or how we can use my magic to scan for areas with high mana concentration."

Ben chuckled. "You want to mix magic and tech again?"

Elvira gave him a proud smile. "Of course. That's kind of our thing."

Ben raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Don't you mean your thing?" He stepped into the workshop and dropped onto the nearby sofa, sighing as his body finally got a break.

The furniture had changed now, more modern, with clean lines and polished surfaces.

Elvira had been busy. Ever since she started digging through his memories, she'd begun experimenting—tinkering with shapes, materials, layouts.

All in the name of understanding how his world worked. Ben ran a hand along the armrest, whistling. "You made all this yourself?"

Elvira, crouched at her workbench, gave a nonchalant nod. "Mm-hm. Every piece."

He raised a brow. "You're getting very good at this."

She glanced over her shoulder with a smug grin. "Of course. I'm called a genius for a reason."

Ben narrowed his eyes at the furniture again, then back at her. "Wait… is this all built using white mana gemstones?"

There was a pause. Elvira cleared her throat. "Cough. Well not directly. Technically—yes. But it was necessary to replicate the material structure accurately."

Ben leaned forward, eyes widening. "You burned through high-grade mana stones to build a—what is this, a recliner?!"

"It's a special recliner," she said quickly, pointing to the glowing runes subtly etched into the base. "It's infused with a restorative array and pressure-sensitive enchantments. Try sitting there for ten minutes and tell me it's not worth it."

Ben groaned. "We could've built a wall!"