Before ending the day, there was one more thing Petra wanted to take a look at…
-
The grafting project was something that would take a lot of time, so there was no rush. While Levy was busy planning out the new root network, Petra moved on to another part of the mansion.
She blinked across the territory and appeared before the front of the mansion.
Her feet landed with a light 'tut', and her small body settled on top of the massive stone map that depicted the cross continent, but this map was no longer as lively as before…
All the tiny ants that once scurried across its surface, updating it in real time, had been reassigned to other projects, and now, the map was deathly still.
Petra crouched down and traced a tiny finger over the miniature carvings of mountains and rivers. It never ceased to amaze her how detailed this map was.
The reason she 'paused' the map was simple, and that was Petra was planning to build a much bigger one, something far more comprehensive, something that covered not just the Cross Continent… no, but also everything beyond it!
The Third Calamity would expand outside the continent, and the fourth would completely leave it, so her map naturally needed to evolve alongside it, right—?
Right!
Anyways…
This map would stay here as a regional reference, a sort of doormat, and the 'new one' would be installed in the center of the 'Grand Plaza'.
What was the Grand Plaza, you may ask?
Well—!
The Grand Plaza was a massive structure Petra planned to build 'underneath' the Emerald Ghost Tree. The idea was to lift the tree just a little, then mold and reinforce its roots to form a four-legged foundation, almost like a living tree-shaped table. The hollow beneath the raised tree would become the new Grand Plaza, creating a vast space that could connect the entire mansion, including the main tower, side towers, and the poison garden in the backyard, all linked together through a single space.
Beneath the plaza, she would also construct an enormous 'underground vault' / 'storage system'.
This was why Petra wanted to lift the Emerald Ghost Tree!
It was a tiny bit greedy, sure-sure… but she would never attempt something like this if Levy wasn't 'readily available'. Levy was the only one who could stabilize and reinforce the roots properly, at least right now, so Petra intended to use her to the fullest when she still could.
There was still a bit of PTSD from last time…
The Grand Plaza would hold the new world map, not just a continental map, no no, a full world map! The whole of Pillomal!
Petra nodded to herself, already imagining how cool it would look.
The tiny green-haired tyrant grinned widely. It was going to be amazing, she just knew it!
* * *
A few days later…
-
'A Supreme Grade Spirit Stone Mine!' That was the first thing the dwarven sisters shrieked after they were brought down into the spirit stone mine for the first time.
And yeah, what did you expect?
Two great existences had fallen here. It would be strange if there wasn't a Supreme Grade Spirit Stone Mine buried beneath the Emerald Ghost Tree. Naturally, the entire mine had formed from the condensed remains of their power after both of them 'passed away'.
Levy confirmed this as well, but with a bit of added foreshadowing...
Normally, when an existence of that level died, their remains only had one of three fates, either they would be divided up and turned into crafting materials, their bodies would transform into a secret realm, or they would become a spirit stone mine and saturate the earth.
Regardless of which, each of these processes took countless years to happen.
Fortunately for Petra, she had hit the jackpot!
-
Thinking back, Petra still found it funny whenever she thought about it. Those two, the two dwarven sisters, were pretty cute…
- Nibble…
Currently, she was walking beside the dog maid. The dumb dog's floppy ears bounced with every step, as they headed deeper into the mine.
Petra had spent most of her free time in the last few days entirely focused on the Spirit Stone Mine.
- Nibble…
Most of the changes she was planning weren't above ground at all, no, the vast majority was down here, beneath the Emerald Ghost Tree and deep underground, near the bottom of the barrier.
She nibbled on a biscuit as she walked, thinking about it.
To the side, the dog girl stared at it, drooling.
Out of all the beast maids, Petra had the closest relationship with this one. They both had a monstrous appetite, and they shared the title of foodie.
Of course, there was also a problem with this…
The dog girls looked at Petra, then the biscuit, then Petra, then the biscuit, and then—
Drool gathered at the corner of her mouth.
- Nibble… nib—Hm?
Hump! Petra snorted, turned her head, and kept nibbling.
When two foodies met, it was not uncommon for conflicts to arise when sharing food. Especially for Petra, because the food she usually ate was of a much higher quality than normal. Petra had no idea how Luna became so skilled at cooking. Even a noble would be jealous of her luxury lunches…
The dog girl's ears drooped in heartbreak.
Petra could hear her whimpering from the side. Sadness overflowed as the maid produced a big pair of watery, puppy dog eyes, then shot them ruthlessly towards Petra. If one were to witness this from the side, then perhaps they would pity this dumb dog, but—
Unfortunately for her, Petra knew that this silly sister had pockets full of dried sausage.
She could smell it!
This dumb dog wasn't good at much, but when it came to acting, she had no match! Pleading for pity was a practice she had perfected long ago, probably during her childhood.
There was some tragic backstory here, but Petra didn't care at all…
No, that wasn't it, she was just too scared to ask…
They continued to descend…
* * *
Petra walked in the lead, a small green lantern floating beside her and illuminating the way ahead. Its soft glow washed over the stone walls as the path sloped steadily downwards.
The tunnel network stretched before them like an underground maze, a vast labyrinth of interwoven passageways carved out by the ant army over a long period of time. They haven't yet reached the Spirit Stone Mine, so everything here still looked like a normal subterranean system, full of branching tunnels and compacted walls.
The floor was uneven and wet, pooling in places, while collapsing and cracking in others. The deeper they went, the cooler the air became, and every step echoed faintly against the rough stone 'floor'.
Their voices would have sounded very loud here, but neither Petra nor the dumb dog spoke. They had no idea how far these tunnels extended, but it didn't matter. They had no intention of testing their limits, they just wanted to stealthily snack as they approached their destination.
The tunnels varied wildly in size.
Some passages were narrow and rounded, only a few meters across, while others opened up into vast halls that were nearly eight meters in diameter.
Going deeper…
The walls were alive with movement.
Countless ants traversed the tunnel system, their sizes ranging from as small as a fingertip, to ants so large they nearly brushed the ceiling with their huge shells. They scuttled up and down the walls, dipping in and out of unseen channels and tributaries, carrying bundles of stone, soil, ores, and tool artifacts to somewhere deeper underground. It was like a three-dimensional construction team. Each ant was part of a logistics system so complex that Petra refused to even try to understand it. It worked, and that was good enough for the little her.
The smaller ants darted through the tunnels like rapid scouts, weaving between Petra's legs and vanishing as quickly as they appeared.
For those with a fear of insects, this place would no doubt be one to avoid like the plague.
Everywhere she looked, the ants were filling in old and unused tunnels, and in a way, they were 'cleaning up' the colony. Any passage that stretched too far or branched off without a known need was compacted and sealed. Tributaries vanished one after another as the central tunnels were widened and reinforced. They weren't just cleaning, no, they were restructuring the entire underground network.
This was, of course, by Petra's instructions!
Like a living city tightening its borders, rebuilding its walls, and reforming its foundation, the ant colony was reshaping everything in preparation for what came next…
Petra stopped briefly to inspect one of the reinforced walls.
The thick layers of stone glowed faintly, reacting to the distant spiritual energy that seeped from deeper underground. This was good, because it told her that this was a form of 'magical engineering', not just children (Ants) throwing around dirt. Petra didn't know what kind of enhancements these stone walls had undergone, mostly because she was too lazy to care, but it should be a technique that the Ant Queen 'stripped' from another magic beast.
They could do this, not only with bloodline abilities, but also with knowledge…
That was why the Warlord Forge was so terrifying!
Satisfied, she continued her descent, her tiny lantern flickering slightly as she and the dog maid disappeared further into the labyrinth of legs.
-
Soon, they reached the actual Spirit Stone Mine...
Petra was far more sensitive than the first time she had entered this place, so it wasn't difficult to feel how immense the spiritual energy truly was. The air felt thick, heavy, and 'charged' with a condensed pressure so great that it was terrifying. The walls practically vibrated, holding far too much spiritual energy for any normal mage to withstand.
Back then, she had tried to absorb raw spiritual energy from a shard of the mine, prematurely, not knowing its density or grade, nor how to use it.
Knowing what she did now, Petra was very lucky she hadn't exploded on the spot…
-
Unlike the bustling tunnels above, the innermost area of the territory, the Supreme Grade Spirit Stone Mine, was calm, almost solemn, carrying an unseen dignity that permeated everything, like a machine that had yet to initialize. The noise from the ants had faded, replaced by a deep, steady hum that seemed to resonate through the stone in sharp harmonics that neared the limit of what human ears could receive. It was almost like a song, only more chaotic, no, that wasn't it—
It was difficult to put into words...
Petra passed through the small area that had already been mined.
The surrounding spiritual energy had liquefied and condensed into a dense vapor that clung to her clothes like morning dew, and every breath she took tasted faintly of fruit…
It was an odd taste, an indescribable taste, something that she couldn't explain because she had never experienced it before. This phenomenon was common wherever 'Mana' grew far too dense. Mana was the combination of 'Spiritual Energy, Natural Energy, and Elemental Energy'.
Remember, 'Spirit Stones' actually contained these three elements to stabilize themselves and not explode, therefore, they were technically 'Mana Stones'.
It just depended on your profession.
If you asked a Mage what the fundamental energies of the world were, they would usually answer, 'Mana, Mystic, and the Soul'. But if you asked a Cultivator what the fundamental energies of the world were, they would answer, 'Natural, Spiritual, Elemental, Mystic, and the Soul'. It was just a different perspective from a different profession…
Petra preferred the five fundamental forces instead of the three.
Anyways—! I digress…
-
She pressed deeper into the Supreme Grade Spirit Stone Mine.
The faint glow of spiritual light flowed from the walls, illuminating the cavern in soft ribbons of blue and white. It felt as if the space was beneath the sea, with the unseen surface far above, locking into the walls, and casting rippling reflections across the stone, with the light projected through the thin mist that filled the air, forming an ethereal pattern that drifted and shifted with every breath. As the concentration of spiritual energy continued to build, each crystal began to emit a low, rhythmic hum, steady and measured, like a heartbeat of something ancient and powerful, perhaps the lingering will of its source, or its creators, the two fallen overlords.
The glow spilled across the cavern floor, reflecting off scattered fragments of fallen crystal and bathing the entire chamber in a dreamlike haze. This place was formed from the condensed remains of two monsters, so it wasn't strange that the air felt alive…
Petra paused.
Even she had to admit that—
This place was incredible! The scale, the power, the untouched potential! It was all here, waiting patiently just for her tiny little claws to masterfully misuse! He-he-he—!
But…
Unfortunately, she couldn't use it for cultivation…
As a cultivator of the 'darkness element', her primary goal was to collect as much dark-element elemental energy as possible. Unfortunately…
That was not here…
* * *