***Tirnanog, Hochberg***

***Magnus***

“Now that we have fulfilled your 'quest', can we finally learn what this new mutation is all about?” I asked.

We were once more convening in Gaia's dream villa, but this time the house was situated on a long and snowy mountain chain which I recognized as belonging to Mount Aerie. It was the same scene Astra and I had watched when she informed me of her pregnancy at the observation lounge.

If I had found this unfortified house on the real Tirnanog, I would have questioned the builder's sanity.

“Yes!” Astra clapped her hands in anticipation. “What new ability do we get?”

I rolled my eyes. Hopefully, this situation wouldn't become a regular occurrence. This felt too much like getting new skills from a trainer NPC.

Gaia blinked and adjusted her position on the couch. She looked a little distracted. “New ability? No new ability.”

What!?

“Then what was the point of telling us to eat that slimy root raw!?” Astra asked quickly, looking aghast. She wrung her hands as if she was considering to choke Gaia.

I pulled a face at the memory of eating the rancid roots.

The acidroot didn't taste... bad, but not good either. It tasted like overly strong vinegar. Not something I would ingest raw for fun, but it was tolerable.

The disgusting part was the squishy, slimy texture which felt like a mixture of cartilage and what I imagined to be raw jellyfish. Chewing the root was an exercise in futility because it bounced back from any attempt at crushing it. Like rubber. To get it down, I had to cut it up into tiny pieces and swallow them like pills – which made eating them at least somewhat tolerable.

It was no longer a mystery why the drakes had tried literally every plant they could get their teeth on but hadn't contested our claim on the acidroots in the slightest.

Gaia waved us off. “As much as I would have loved to play an April fool's joke on you two, I am not that petty. Though, having you eat something disgusting just for the heck of it would have been funny.”

She sighed at the lost chance of pulling a prank on us. “Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to stop the nanomachines from making a mess of your DNA if you ingested something incompatible. I can influence the process, but not abort it. It's an intentional flaw the scientists added to... enforce the experiment. Not that it would be healthy to have your DNA messed with half-heartedly, hahaha! Only you can start or refuse the process now that the function to do so is unlocked in your UI. Once the process is running there is no going back.”

“Then why?” I asked.

“Your bodies are reaching the limits of the possible energy density your tissue can withstand. You are aware that you are essentially supercharged capacitors combined with a fuel cell? Electric resistivity, force, heat, conventional biology and chemistry can only withstand so much.”

She smiled and pointed at herself in a not-very-humble manner. “Thankfully, nature already provided solutions! There are certain extremophile organisms capable of surviving conditions which would be lethal to most others. The DNA of the acidroot allows me to incorporate silicon reinforcements into the building plans for your cell walls. Some improvements to how your cells metabolize energy are also on the table, increasing your overall power.”

Gaia performed a vague 'so-so' gesture with her hand. “We will see whether the second part is feasible. I don’t want you to go up in flames like an old-fashioned battery as soon as someone pokes a hole into you. In any case, you shouldn't expect any of the changes to be noticeable immediately. This will be like the filaments – a slow growth which will have a huge impact in the long run. Expect yourselves to be more resistant to heat and physical damage once your bodies adapt. Oh, and there might be a slight craving to eat your dinnerware. Nothing to worry about.”

“And I am sure nobody will look at us funny once the dishes start disappearing,” I commented with a small titbit of sarcasm in my voice. “Well, I guess less work with washing.”

Astra's reaction was different. “Oh, so then why didn't you call it something like heat resistance from the start?”

Gaia pointed us towards the door. “Because that would be misleading. Now shoo! You don't want me to mess this up.”

Not thinking it wise to distract the deity which was currently real-time manipulating our DNA, I linked arms with Astra and guided her out of the room.

“What do we do now? Seems like lessons are cancelled for tonight.” Astra asked. “More training?” She looked towards the bedrooms. “Or should we... you know... use the chance while she is distracted?”

I gave my insatiable woman an exasperated look. Hadn't I rocked her boat enough before we went to sleep?

Coming from my mate, the suggestion was certainly tempting, but I looked out the window as another idea struck me. This was a dream. We were safe and out there was an entirely untouched mountain range with metres of deep powder snow.

“Astra, have you ever been skiing?”

When we woke the next day, our UI reconnected with Astra's parents and we received the message that our air fleet was inbound, so we headed out with Thalia and the drakes to greet them and give a report. We could have communicated all the details over the UI, but the restriction to the chat system felt too impersonal.

Meeting up with the fleet was no problem thanks to the drakes, who seemed to know exactly where to find their kin once we informed them of our intentions.

I was quite honestly not sure what to expect, but once we closed in on the dots in the sky I was torn between befuddlement and being impressed.

Shaped by Earth's media, my idea of air superiority had always been hundreds if not thousands of fighter jets and bombers.

Airships and balloons had been erased from Earth's military hardware centuries ago. They were too slow for their size and their lifting capability wasn't up to par in comparison to large transport planes. Another issue was posed by how expensive the necessary gas was.

Oversimplified, a plane could increase and reduce its lift capacity relatively easily by adjusting the speed.

An airship had always as much lift as the available gas of choice provided. If just a little bit was lost during the journey, or intentionally jettisoned to reduce height, there was no economic way of getting it back during the flight. This in turn reduced the vehicle's manoeuvrability. The facilities to produce hydrogen or helium had too much weight to be transported with the vehicle.

This downside was topped by an airship's large surface area, making it vulnerable to windy weather conditions. This problem had delayed Aerie's campaign by several weeks.

Though the sponges found in Aerie's cave system took care of the far bigger issue. They grew like weeds and gathered light gases on their own until they could lift off to colonize new areas and propagate. The only thing holding them in check were the various herbivores depending on them.

The sponges alone allowed the fifteenth strata to go down an entirely unprecedented route of aerial transportation in the absence of jet engines and turboprops, allowing over three hundred vessels of all kinds and sizes to steadily make their way towards the Hochberg fortress city.

And if an extra boost of propellent was needed above the standard propellers, the drakes were perfect natural jet engines.

The airships were still slow compared to planes but faster than any land-bound transportation method.

The largest vessel was a carrier-sized island which was cobbled together from several cylindrical catching nets holding sponge colonies. It even had multiple levels. Although, the most common airship design in the fleet was a relatively conventional-looking airship which reminded me of the Hindenburg.

Once we came closer, we were greeted by several drake-riders from the fifteenth who guided us into a dock on the large island.

There we were greeted by Teresa Frost, Richard Tate, as well as elder Skye Rumen from the fifteenth.

“Mom!” “Dad!”

Astra and Thalia greeted their parents with enthusiastic hugs while Loopsfast placed me on the ground.

Yes, my stupid mount was still carrying me in its claws when we flew. And no. Given Loop's tendency to perform insane aerial manoeuvres as soon as he got excited, I had no intention of ever riding him conventionally!

Though, his episodes of losing control of his temper had gotten a lot better lately. I wondered what that was about.

“What about the children?” Astra asked.

“They were well taken care of when we left. I am so glad that you two are well.” Teresa finally released Astra from her embrace and went to hug me too. “You have to tell us all about Hochberg. Were you successful in gaining their support?”

The hug surprised me for a moment until I remembered I was the son-in-law. “As successful as possible, I guess.”

I patted her back awkwardly, not knowing how else to react until she let me go.

“Great,” Skye Rumen said. “We have an office ready and a few hours to catch up before the fleet reaches Hochberg.”

“Right, I wanted to ask whether you split the fleet,” I questioned. “I remember seeing a lot more airships at your dockyard.”

Skye gave me a knowing smile. “Indeed. All those ships have need upkeep. Or did you think we would be entertaining so many airships because it is fun? The other part of the fleet is still at the Aerie mountains, hunting leviathans and other profitable game while helping our drake colony to widen their territory.”

I pursed my lips. “Remind me to ask how that works in detail sometime later?”

He grinned.

“Before I forget,” Richart Tate interrupted. “Elder Gilbert told us to send you to him as soon as you arrive. He and his strata were working on some high secrecy project and they need your help to finalize it. I hope they get it to work because they hogged a lot of resources needed in other places.”

Skye nodded. “We couldn't reactivate over a dozen ships from winter storage because we didn't get the necessary manpower. Gilbert commandeered a group of his best smiths and an entire workforce of the second strata’s engineers for his pet project. If this turns out to be firehorn's dung, I will give him a personal thrashing.”

This certainly sounded interesting. I wondered what the old man had been up to during my absence. The last time we met, he had been buried up to his head in his research on creature cores. Though, I doubted he made much headway without me there to activate the cores for him.

Still, the elder had over a century of experience. Despite not having access to industries and facilities comparable with Earth’s, he had the knowledge and books from Aerie’s libraries to understand what he was working with. Added on top was the encyclopedia I had brought with me from Earth.

Just maybe, he had made some breakthrough after all.

Teresa ordered one of her guards to guide me to Gilbert's place before the elders abducted Astra and Thalia to a conference room.

In a way, I was glad I wouldn't have to be present for a boring recount of what I already knew.

A few minutes later, my guide gestured me through a doorway which led into a very roomy workshop, totally unlike anything I would have ever expected on a flying vessel.

On a second look, I realized that the left wall was entirely made up of a large blast door, so I had to revise my initial impression. This was a repurposed hangar like the one our drakes had landed in.

“Boy! Ah, how I craved to see you!” Gilbert Kline greeted me as soon as I walked deeper into his sanctuary. He set aside the creature cores he had been working on and approached me and my guide with a glint in his eyes.

“Hello, Gilbert!” I greeted and pointed at the cores. “Did you make any progress since we left?”

The guide excused herself and I waved her goodbye, but my attention was on the elder. We had worked together for just a few weeks before I was sent on the diplomatic mission, but it was enough to build a connection with him.

The elder waved his hand dismissively while he regarded me from head to toe. “Forget the cores for the moment. I want to know how my work held up during your travels. You haurgh-”

His eyes locked onto the short sword at my side and he choked as he tried to cough and inhale air at the same time.

“What did you do to my sword?” Gilbert reached out. “Hand it over right now, brute!”

I forced myself to keep smiling, even if I found his reaction a little excentric. But he was an elder and not to be trifled with, so I unlatched the sheath at my side and handed the sword over.

To be honest, by keeping it inside the sheath, I had hoped he would overlook it. How the old man had noticed the damage was a mystery to me.

“It's just a sword. And what do you mean with your sword? I have been using it for the past few weeks!”

“Don't talk back to me boy!” Gilbert snapped back while he took the sword and tried to pull it out of its sheath. “Everything I make is mine! Just because I allow others to use it doesn't mean-”

He pulled, but the sword didn't budge inside the sheath. The problem wasn’t so much the elder’s strength, but the grip the sheath provided as his hand slipped off the smooth surface.

I somehow managed to keep the smile off my lips, but it was hard.

When he tried again unsuccessfully to unsheathe the sword I asked, “Should I help?”

I had to admit, I had been quite rough with getting the sword in there. A foot and a lot of cursing combined with brute violence might have been involved.

Gilbert offered me the sheath and I held onto it with both hands while he pulled at the sword's hilt with all his might.

The blade came loose with a grinding noise and a few sparks, revealing all the horrible abuse I put it through. Shoving the bent blade into the sheath hadn't made things better.

“On the upside, your spetum and armour held up just fine,” I tried to spread some positiveness.

The smith was aghast while he tested the edge of the blade with his thumb. “What did you do!? This is atrocious!”

“I... used it?”

He glared at me.

“I… tried to service it?”

He kept glaring.

“Oh, come on man!” I exclaimed and threw up my arms. “It was already a lost cause with the tools I had access to. By grinding a new edge onto it I could at least get a few more chops out of it.”

“Don’t ever try to repair your equipment again! The sword is ruined.” Gilbert swung his arm and I ducked, but he adjusted his aim and slapped me over the side of my head.

“Hey!” I knew I was no good when it came to craftsmanship, but this wasn’t warranted. “It was already ruined beforehand.”

He grinned. “But your martial skills improved! Before you left, you wouldn't have gotten so close to dodging me. But seriously. What did you do to this poor blade? Did you strike a rock with the flat side? And those chips all over the edge!”

I sighed. “I took part in some stupid honour duel with a Thich. Their ambassador insisted on it to get out of dodge. The other guy was really fast and I wasn't allowed to kill him, so clashing blades was the only real option.”

At least without revealing one of my secret abilities.

“They dug that old rite out the bag? Must have been their last card to play.” Gilbert raised an eyebrow. “And you fought a sturdy motherfucker. How often did you hit him with the flat before he yielded? The sword looks like you brutalized an entire scouting party.”

I shrugged and scratched the back of my head, not remembering to have counted. “Oh, a few times. Didn't count, to be honest.”

Gilbert drew in a breath and threw the sword into a bin. “Then I will have to make you a new one, though I suspect a simple rod of steel might be a better fit for you.”

I pursed my lips, unable to object. There was a certain point at which the thin edge of a blade could no longer withstand the power of its wielder. It was the reason why the blades of most strength-based warriors were as thick as the one on my spetum.

Such weapons could no longer be called a proper blade, but a rod of steel.

“Maybe one of those with a rhombus-shaped base?” I suggested. “They should be sturdy enough. Maybe with a sharp point so I can poke people?”

“We will see. Somehow I have a feeling you would find a way to abuse any weapon I give to you.”

“That’s just not fair. I took good care of the spetum!”

Gilbert regarded the bin before he took me by the arm and practically frogmarched me further into his workshop where some of his people were working on a strange contraption.

“First, you will help us to start this baby!” Gilbert announced with a big grin on his face.

I scratched my chest, looking over the artefact in wonder and confusion.

The contraption was cone-shaped. Its wide base was facing us and with about five metres in diameter. The base looked like the over-extended jaws of a shark with jagged metal teeth. More, smaller jaws followed behind it, reminding me of an inverted mining drill. One of those things they used to dig tunnels through mountains.

Organic-looking metal tendrils ran from each tooth to an incomprehensible knot of vein-like cables and other cores, completing the cone.

I had no clue what to make of it.

“You know, I am all up for strange experiments, but what is this?” I asked. “It looks like you ripped it straight out of the guts of some biomechanic monster.”

Its makeup had similarities with Thich’s communicator. Gilbert would love to have a look at that one for sure.

The elder grinned and gestured at the apparatus. “Magnus, I present you with the front-end digestion system of a worm. Expertly gutted and freed of flesh and unnecessary support structure like bones and muscles.”

It took a moment to make 'click' in my mind. “The radioactive living mining machines!?”

I took a step away from the thing.

“No worries! This one didn't have its fusion generator damaged.” Gilbert gestured to come closer. “There is no radiation to worry about. It's one of the two complete sets the clan has and we have checked every millimetre for damage. I probably don't have to explain how incredibly rare it is to kill a worm without blowing up its power source.”

He patted one of the teeth which was as big as his head. “The only reason why we even managed it was because this one wasn't even fully grown when it broke into Aerie's main living cavern. Still took all the elders to take it down. That was long before your time, but I kept it in storage instead of gutting it for resources.”

“Then what do you want with it?” I asked. “I thought they eat rocks or something?”

“Hm. Hm.” Gilbert nodded. “They do indeed, but the important point is the how. The worms always come in pairs. One leads the way. While digging the tunnel, it eats the debris and shovels it directly into its wormhole maw. The rocks land at the paired worm, which follows the lead worm and processes the materials. This way, larger worms can have several maws filling their bellies at once while the main creature doesn't even have to be in the vicinity!”

I gulped as the insanity of Gilbert's plan became obvious. “And I guess you have the paired 'hind-end' of the worm back at Aerie?”

The elder rubbed his hands in anticipation. “Indeed!”

I sighed and deflated slightly. “Not to burst your bubble, but you know I can't start up the cores without seeing them operate. I have to read the 'access code' out of the control mechanism. I doubt you brought a worm with you, given how big they are.”

Creating a functioning wormhole gate without the necessary industrial base was an impossibility. But adjusting an already existing one to our purposes might be just south enough to work. Though, I knew for certain I wouldn't be hunting a worm any time soon if it could be helped.

Gilbert grinned.

“You are shitting me,” I said.

“Not a grown one.” The elder pointed me to a large metal bathtub filled with rocks. “But we have a few babies! While studying the worm-gate, I realized that the central processing unit of the big one is identical to the ones inside the larvae. They appear to grow in stages, which makes sense for a biomechanical organism. Why change a part of the machinery later on when you can build it to specifications from the beginning?”