Chapter 21

While waiting, he wanted to heal, but there was no talc to use. Even ants could not find anything. So he sat there, thinking about what happened these last few days.

Stone finally processed his loneliness after Partner went to sleep and decided that it was not for him; the anger, loneliness, happiness… all of those loud emotions that screamed in his mind. He did not like them and learned how to ignore them. After this decision, he felt like a proper stone again.

"This feels right," he internally nodded to himself. Still, one persistent feeling still annoyed him; the need to help the Partner. He did not know how, but he would ask the dwarf. The peace he felt put him back in his memories when he was a stupid pebble near the anthill. That made him remember Queen Ant, which irritated him. So he focused again and the bad feelings went away once more.

The third day, when Stone was still sitting there, thinking his stony thoughts, the dwarf finally stirred.

"Hey!" Stone greeted him.

Dafur's eyes twitched and slowly opened. He was incredibly thirsty, hungry, and had a headache stronger than after drinking Dwarven Fire-gland Brandy, fabled for its ability to intoxicate even young wyverns. He tried to move, but could not and panicked, fearing he was paralyzed.

"Hey!" His hazy thoughts and swirling emotions were disrupted by a high-pitched voice.

He squinted his eyes as he scrutinized the surroundings. He noticed a familiar smooth, white stone on his chest surrounded by ants.

"…"

"… huh…," Dafur's eyes gradually focused on the pebble.

"…"

"Hello!" Stone said again per Partner's lectures about greetings.

Dafur blinked a few times, his face blank. First, he thought it was the ants' Queen, but the voice came from the stone.

"Talkin stone… ah, deep craziness. I caught the deep craziness!"

"What is deep craziness?"

"…" Dafur disregarded him and stirred again. This time his arms and legs twitched and he sighed, relieved.

"I am Stone," Stone introduced himself. He did not know why the dwarf was doing what he was doing, but the loud, intrusive feelings found their way back into his mind again. He really missed Partner. He resented being lonely. "What a strange thing for a stone," flashed through his mind.

"Ya. I'm as crazy as Breadbeard."

"I am Stone! And I saved your life."

"… Saved mae life… uhuh. Talkin' piece of rock tells mea it saved mae life."

"… Yes?" Stone was confused. Why was the stupid dwarf stating already established facts?

"Hahahahehehaha! Cough, cough!" Dafur laughed loudly, making him cough.

"Loud," Stone complained but was ignored.

"Hehe, and how did ya saved mae life?" Dafur still laughs at this absurdity.

"Blood poured out of your head. I put a cover out of mana over it."

"Talkin' pebble who saved mae life can use mana… Hahahah! Now tell mea that ya have joined Universum!" Dafur laughed even more maniacally while he occasionally coughed.

"Loud! I don't like loud," if Stone could, he would frown, annoyed.

"… Hahahahaha!" That put Dafur over the edge and he began to hysterically laugh. Even tears were coming from his eyes.

"LOUD!" Stone got irritated over this idiotic, loud dwarf and created a [Mana Bubble] from refined mana into the hole from where the noises came from.

"HMP!" Dafur eyes bulged at the bubble of refined mana and very quickly calmed himself down. Well, when someone put something that could explode in your mouth, the instinct would kind of kick in.

"Aaaah, better. Yes, I joined Universum. At least that was the loud voice said. Partner was happy."

"Partner? Don't tell me… and that refined mana!" Dafur recalled the refined mana he saw when he first arrived before those fighting rats and ants. His irises enlarged to the maximum and when the thought settled, he gazed at the pebble in fear and with a hint of reverence.

"I. Hmpf!" ("I'm naet insan'?") Dafur mumbled under his thick beard and the bubble.

"Now, I will remove that bubble. Don't be loud. I genuinely dislike it."

Dafur slowly nodded in agreement. The blueish [Mana Bubble] fizzled into nothingness. However, blues strikes of the refined mana entered the casket.

"That's strange, I did not cancel it," Stone said, slightly curious.

"I'm-" As soon as Dafur started to talk, he was interrupted.

The refined mana spread through the casket and activated golden runes that were not visible before. They slowly lit up, one after another all around the casket's wall.

Dafur attempted to get out but still couldn't budge.

"We need to get out of here!"

The ancient runes released a flash of golden light, which intensified as it enveloped Dafur's body.

"That's naet a tomb!" Was the last thing that Dafur shouted before losing consciousness again.

A mechanical voice resounds over the hall.

"New specimens added to containment. Refined mana registered. Experiment number 20569 activated."

"Specimen number 1. Race, dwarf. Class, first rank runemaster. Evolution possible. Limits reached."

"Specimen number 2 to 38. Race, ants. Class, none. Evolution impossible."

"Specimen number 39. Race, talc. Class, none. Evolution possible. Limits not reached. Irregularities detected."

"Specimen number 40. Race, unknown... krpc, scrip, chrip," the mechanical voice broke into static.

Meanwhile, Stone and ants were enveloped by the golden light too. He sensed a little bit of pressure, but no pain or discomfort. Stone inspected the flashing messages he was in his little stone journal.

[You are forcefully evolved]

[You did not reach the requirements]

The mechanical voice echoed in the hall, "specimen thirty-nine did not reach limits. Forceful breakthrough needed. Process of forceful limits removal activated."

The golden glow condensed on Stone.

[Hardness increased to 2.999 points]

[Limits are being forcefully broken. Breaking of laws detected. Countermeasures activated]

Something similar to experience flowed into Stone's body from the casket.

[Countermeasures ineffective. Race unknown. Cannot determine the classification of the entity known as Stone. New race being calculated]

[Limits broken]

[New attribute limits raised to 15 points]

[Strength and dexterity unable to raise. Intelligence forcefully raised to 10.]

[New limits imposed]

"Excess energy redirected to specimens 2 to 38. Unable to evolve. Souls compatible with the title of specimen 39," the loud voice stated.

"Loud!" Stone complained yet again. "Why does everyone have to be so loud?"

The ants exploded into chunks, but their small souls remained. Dozens of tentacles of tiny golden runes enveloped and compressed the souls. They turned into streaks of light and entered the Stone.

[New spell is being transferred]

The mechanical voice continued, "needed limits reached in all specimens. Blightification activated."

The golden glow focused on Dafur. He spasmed. His clothes and even his hairs, beard included, disintegrated as an immense amount of mana forcing its way into his body through skin and orifices. His eyes shot open and he screamed in pain as he got shorter by 10 centimetres. The golden glow condensed into lines of written celestian language all over his body. They merged with his body and faded.

"Blightification successful in specimens 1. Specimens 39 and 40 are immune."

"Krrch. Kreep. Crak." The mechanical voice broke again and became silent. The golden glow stopped and the whole casket fractured at several places.