Elio emerged from the system book, his body still vibrating with the energy of the newly conquered level 6.
This time, aware of the dangers surrounding him, he decided not to summon Ember. The light of his faithful salamander would only serve to alert the immobile Locus around him of his presence.
With a fluid motion, he opened his book to the absorption page and let himself fall into the mountain of cores surrounding him.
The sensation was familiar but no less impressive: thousands of small energy spheres brushing against his body, each representing a victory of the barrier over the monsters besieging the city.
He descended as if the ground was swallowing him, his body sinking deeper and deeper into the sea of cores. Finally, after a short but intense time that he couldn't calculate precisely, his feet touched solid ground.
Elio took a moment to orient himself, grateful for having had the foresight to launch himself as close as possible to the wall.
Once he located the adjacent wall, Elio began to consider the strategy he had discussed with Ren.
The idea was to walk around the wall to collect cores.
They calculated he could obtain about 20 times more cores than in his last incursion. However, the challenge was considerable: without provisions and facing the possibility of staying awake for about 200 hours.
200 hours... According to Ren, the last time Elio absorbed cores he did it for about 10 hours and the quantity was approximately a 20th part of the volume of cores surrounding the wall.
Elio reflected on his limits.
His system-enhanced lvl 6 body could probably withstand the challenge, but he didn't want to risk unnecessarily. He had no intention of jeopardizing everything he had fought for. He decided that at least 100 hours would be easily manageable, especially considering that the regeneration upon overcoming the level had eliminated his feeling of hunger and fatigue.
Even when he was poor, just drinking water had been enough to keep him living for long periods... And he could make his own.
Remembering Ren's calculations, Elio established a plan that would take half the time. He would absorb cores for 5 hours before moving slowly, trying to cover 2.5 kilometers every 5 hours instead of every 10.
If upon completing the round he still felt energetic, he would consider extending his stay to the initially planned 200 hours... With another round.
With the plan established, Elio sat down and began the tedious task of absorbing cores. The first 5 hours were the only ones he would have to wait in the same place.
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Boredom soon set in. Although his new ice penguin was adorable company, he couldn't hold a conversation with it. The penguin waddled around him, occasionally pecking at the cores curiously.
The shape of the tunnel would even help him judge approximately whether he was moving in a straight line or not.
"It could work," he murmured, his mind already calculating the details. "Using the new ice power to create a tunnel..."
The ice penguin, sensing its summoner's excitement, emitted a soft squawk of support. Elio smiled, grateful for the creature's comforting presence.
However, the smile quickly faded when he began to consider the practical challenges of his plan. Creating a tunnel long enough to reach the deposit would require an immense amount of mana.
Moreover, keeping it stable under the weight of countless monsters would depend on how resistant it was...
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Elio, driven by his enthusiasm and his new ability to control ice, began his experiments without stopping too much to think about the structure.
In a world where making buildings was a foreign concept because God provided them with homes and an already built city... His approach was purely intuitive and experimental.
His first idea was to create a simple ice box. With a fluid movement of his hands, Elio manipulated the cold around him, forming crystalline walls that surrounded him. Aware of the need to continue absorbing cores, he left a hole in the roof of his creation. The ice penguin watched with fascination, its beak open in awe.
However, as soon as the structure took shape, Elio noticed something was wrong.
The ice walls began to creak ominously, fine cracks spreading like cobwebs across the surface.
Before he could react, a chunk of ice detached, impacting his shoulder.
Elio let out a cry of pain. Despite his impressive 660 resistance points, the 31 points of damage felt like a brutal blow.
The ice penguin squawked in alarm, waddling over to Elio as if to check on him. Elio patted its head reassuringly, even as he winced from the pain.
Elio began to reconsider his approach. He needed to find a way to make the ice structure more stable, more resistant to the immense pressure of the sea of monsters above.
As he pondered, his eyes fell on the ice penguin. The creature's sturdy round build made him remember the tunnel from lvl 6, which sparked an idea.
"What if..." Elio mused aloud, "What if we mimic them?"
This time, he would aim for a more organic, rounded shape, hoping it would distribute the pressure more evenly.