Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 1150. Full-Time Crafting

The Gravity Core Module was a taste of what Frost could achieve with the Beholder Resonances and her [Nex Refinement] Ability. One hundred days spent crafting new equipment was a nightmare scenario for most, as it was seen as a punishment rather than a reward.

That was two thousand four hundred hours compressed into ten days. Master Craftsmen Dwarves: who dedicated their lives to the forge: could barely muster more than one hundred and thirty hours without rest, never mind a thousand. Furthermore, the idea of creating multiple masterpieces was a daunting task.

Typically, Master Craftsmen dedicated their lives around a handful of pieces. Leonardo D’ Art, a member of the Inventors Gallery (an Impuritas Group akin to Objet D’ Art), held the highest number of masterpieces before his disappearance. Even he had never spent such an absurd amount of time creating his inventions.

Rest was necessary, and between rests, one needed to distract themselves from the task to nourish their mind, less they become burned out.

But Frost did not need to rest. Rest was no longer a biological requirement. Freed from this limitation meant that there was no mental degradation after twenty-four hours, so she could work on the Whitelight Apparatus for as long as she wanted.

The Whitelight Apparatus sat in the center of a grandeur room, which was shaped like a decagon. There was a robust workshop along one of the walls. Another had a queen-sized hammock made of Quality X Cloth. Then, in another corner was a hot spring. It was well equipped with enough amenities to keep a person sane for the next decade.

And that was taking into account the combined needs of Frost, Jury and Joy.

This was Marionette’s personal Whitelight Apparatus, a workshop called the Heart of the Living Loom. It was where Marionette stashed the Whitelight Apparatus, and where she and the Moirai created specialized tech, such as the Scissors that could cut through the strings, as well as the Spools that could collect it.

Surprisingly, the place was overflowing with food supplies. Marionette had prepared this place in advance, particularly for Jury since even a decade’s worth of food would only equate to a hundred days with her gluttony.

In any case, this was where Frost, her wife, and daughter would be spending the next one hundred days. More important than Frost’s and Jury’s comfort was whether Joy would get bored but she seemed more than happy to just be there with them.

After all, what was a hundred days to a girl who had spent her entire life as a mindless Corrupted?

This was heaven as far as she was concerned.

* * *

Firstly, Frost focused on creating the Modules for the Black Wings. With the Gravity Core Module finalized, she could now move on to a Module for each Atelier. The Modules scaled with how powerful her resonance was with a Beholder, so her strongest Module was expected to be Act X’s, followed by the Gravity Core Module.

Frost placed a hand over the pale egg, which sat atop a geometrical podium. Surrounding it were pale rods that resembled a large bonfire. A flash of red light flickered from her hand, and blood began pouring from an unseen wound. Once the egg-shaped Genesis Stone was coated in her blood, she twisted it lightly and sealed her eyes.

“A Module for Act X… Jury, be ready to snap me out of my trance if something goes awry. I’m going to make contact with Beholder Marionette’s Star.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Not the Star-Star, right? Just the one in your Ability?”

“That’s right. I wouldn’t risk communicating with that Star again. I’m not strong enough to fight one.”

“Not yet.” Jury hummed, right as Joy vigorously nodded with a cheerful “Malgam!”

Initiating contact with the Gift From a Star was how products were created using the Whitelight Apparatus. However, Frost’s method involved her infusing her Specific Nex into the Gift From a Star. Since Stars were originally born from the Collective Unconsciousness, whether from tales or concepts, infusing her Specific Nex was akin to hijacking its tale, allowing her to make alterations, as well as to draw power from the Gift From a Star.

This was how she gained || Singularity ||, a Beholder Skill born from Beholder Knalzark’s Gift From a Star. The name of his Star was not revealed to her. In fact, it was impossible to tell the name of a Star from the products alone unless it was the original Gift, such as Mort Toll from the Bellum Empire, which gifted Frost the Resonating Bell.

Still, she needed to understand their concept to an extent.

But above all, a powerful emotional drive was required to fuel the Whitelight Apparatus, as well as an explicit image of the shape of the Aspect she wished to create. She recalled how she imagined surgical tools to chisel away the excess, and the image of a bloody pool which had given birth to the Reservoir.

Frost remained still until her breathing stabilized. She imagined the azure skies of the Celeste Star Fate, and of its concept that governed Act X.

Suddenly, she found herself standing in a world where nothing but strings and only strings existed.

The ground moved beneath her feet, and the air flowed as if every particle was attached to a string. Bringing a hand into the azure air caused folds to appear in space, like she was pushing against a fabric.

“Woah…”

And as simple as a single breath of awe, the ripples turned into tears, and Frost was suddenly ejected from the Whitelight Apparatus. A sharp pain radiated from where her hand used to be, and she quickly realized that the spinning Genesis Stone had torn off her hand.

“Tch–!”

“Frost!?”

“Mama!?”

A faint barrier engulfed the Gensis Stone as light bled from its cracked core. Folds of space rippled before it condensed into a singular, bright orb. The low-pitched whine grew louder as its momentum picked up, and seconds later when it reached a climax–

“Gaaaam!?”

“Sorry, Joy. I had a lapse of focus there. A waste of a Gensis Stone… I shouldn’t have underestimated the other Gifts. Going from the high of Knalzark’s to this is humbling. I’ll be careful.”

–The Genesis Stone exploded into a thousand fragments.

Thankfully, they were stopped by the translucent barrier Frost had previously prepared. The barrier was the lingering effect of [Protection Ward], which was applied to her desiccated hand before she approached the Whitelight Apparatus.

It was a standard precaution. While she was confident in managing the Whitelight Apparatus, she could not ignore murphy’s law. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. It had been a staple companion of hers since she first arrived in Elysia.

As anticipated, it paid another visit. What also helped stave off Murphy’s Law was her newfound Beholder Skill, courtesy of Resonating with Beholder Marionette.

|| Reverberating String ||

< What is said to be set in stone shall be written along the Weft and the Warp. Together, they weave the fabric of the universe >

< EFFECT: Considered a Zone of Arbitration. Become attuned to the Strings that make up the Weft. Within a 500-meter range, all targets: whether ally or enemy, inanimate or animate: gain up to 10 Stacks of [Vibration]. Gain [Foresight] against targets with [Vibration] Stacks. If the target has 10 Stacks of [Vibration] and is also physically tethered to a String belonging to you, then inflict the [Sealed Fate: Commandment] Condition >

< ADDITIONAL EFFECT: Know the exact coordinates of a target within 500 meters, so long as they carry a [Vibration] Stack >

< COST: Nil. Acts as toggleable Passive Skill >

Foresight

< Peer into the future. Does not require direct line of sight >

Sealed Fate: Commandment

< Know how the string that tethers them to this world is severed >