[D'sP] It's Not Complete - Chapter 383 (Patreon)

Doyle perceived a set of cooling plates. Though technically they could also be used as heating plates. The biggest reason he labeled them as cooling plates was that the adjustable swirl was on the hot side.

Down at the end of the deepest floor, his territory was at its strongest and his perception the most piercing. Not to say that it boosted his abilities to some crazy degree, but more like the difference between trying to see the bottom of a pond. If someone is splashing around, it will be a lot harder to get a good look at it than if the pond was calm and the water clear.

Down with his core, Doyle’s very presence calmed the waters. And it is there that he ponders on one distinction that troubles him. The difference between an array and a formation. Not to say he doesn’t see the obvious differences. An array, of which his plates technically have three, are self-contained pieces of runework.

Then you have a formation, which to make it even more confusing, can use arrays or even other formations in their construction. In fact, while the system doesn’t classify it as such, some scholars would probably view his cooling plates as a primitive pseudo-formation.

After all, it works based on three arrays placed at different points in space. Of course, the proper designation of the plates is magitech and the three formations don’t actually connect to one another. In fact, you could in theory remove any of the arrays and it would still work, if at a significantly reduced effectiveness.

Worse for Doyle, is he wasn’t exactly treading new ground here. He had to go through this all to get his new skill in the first place. Except now it was the difference between reading about something in a book and getting hands on with it. Because he could see a way to turn a cooling plate into a formation, with the only caveat being that it would then require masterwork quality and be an actual magic item.

Yet you can make a formation without worrying about the masterwork rule? Sure, the naturally formed formations probably work on a slightly different paradigm, in the same way a dungeon does.

Doyle pauses as he thinks that.

The same way a dungeon does? Maybe it works differently for other dungeons and locations? However, the way it works for Doyle’s dungeon is that he has location paths. But don’t paths require a soul?

Doyle, ‘Hey Ally, got a question if you have some time.’

Ally looks up from a blue screen and quirks her head to the side, ‘What you wondering about?’

Doyle, ‘I was thinking about natural formations and thought of something. So, like, I have location paths and it seems very likely that something like a natural formation would be similar. But don’t paths require a soul?

‘Also, I literally just thought of this, what happens to a path if the source of it is removed? So a location path about a monument except the monument is destroyed or the path of a boxer, but they lose their hands.’

Ally, ‘I’ll start with that last one first. While you can’t “lose” a path, future paths can modify them. So the boxer might later get a path that allows them to use their boxing paths for something adjacent. Though in that case, the more likely outcome is to search for either a way to regain the hands or prosthetics of some sort. Prosthetics, in particular, tend to work the same as their own hands as long as they’re similar enough. And even if not, just one path away from them counting as such.’

Doyle, ‘Which leaves us with locations. For some reason, I don’t see an entire mountain growing back just to reform a natural formation that made the mountain unnaturally foggy.’

Ally shrugs, ‘It could happen. Though more likely, the path involved wouldn’t be for a specific formation, but about the land being special, which led to the natural formation coming into being. Oh, and as for the soul angle?

‘For one, there are place spirits, genus loci and such. That mountain might literally have died when it was destroyed. Might not have as well, depending. Such entities are prime subjects for deification. Mountain gods sometimes are literally that, even if the local populace causes them to take another form with their beliefs.’

Doyle, ‘But there can’t be that many places spirits? Like, I know my world had some beliefs that each place had a spirit, but with what I know now, that seems unlikely.’

Ally, ‘You’d be correct. Place spirits, at least those with an actual soul, tend to be reserved for places of significance. The tallest mountain, a river worshiped by a nation, or an ancient forest that seems to have no end.

‘Though it is hard to tell whether one exists or not. They tend to think on geological scales and even those for shorter lived features like an ancient forest still aren’t normally thinking fast enough to notice people. Unless there is a high level druid around, you aren’t going to notice anything.

‘However, who ever said that a mountain needed a location path for a location path to affect the area? Just look at yourself, your location paths affect things outside of yourself. Another example of this is dryads.

‘Well, not the dryads directly. Rather, the tree they bind with. By becoming a dryad’s tree, they gain a soul. So in the same way you can have location paths, that tree can develop them as well. And of course, if a normal tree gains a soul, it becomes an option for them as well.

‘Those type of situations are how you get “eternal” forests. After all, in nature, a forest isn’t some permanent feature. They come and go. It is only with the support of location paths that allow fantasy forests so old no one knows when it first developed with trees that reach the sky.

‘Oh, and sometimes there’s just a natural formation. It doesn’t have to be a path. After all, if you carved a giant formation into a hill, it would still work.’

Doyle, ‘Oh. Why was I so focused on such things having to be a path? Now that you mention it, there isn’t a reason such an effect can’t just be how a place is.’

Ally shrugs, ‘Eh, it’s a common thought when someone learns about location paths. You have to remember that a desert isn’t dry because of a path, that is just literally the defining characteristic of a desert, low rainfall. Same thing for natural treasures and formations. They’re a symptom of the world being full of magic.’

Doyle, ‘Okay, though that brings up another question. Is it always formations? I don’t think I’ve ever read a story or seen a reference to a naturally formed array. Even if the word is used, it is always describing a formation as the system defines it.’

Ally, ‘Runes are a sapient creation. Not because you can’t find runes in nature, but because sapients give them meaning. Someone could have carved a replica of one of your cooling plates and if they did so before you actualized the local rune system, it wouldn’t have done anything.

‘Runes are the study of civilization and culture. On the other hand, formations work off of universal constants, sometimes even multiversal constants. They are the study of the natural world. It doesn’t matter if a planet has life at all, let alone a sapient population to give stuff meaning. If a valley’s shape and the position of boulders form a formation, it will activate.’

Doyle, ‘But you can use arrays in formations.’

Ally, ‘And you can use artificial flavors in cooking. Though by layering them like that, it goes from being a natural interaction to a magical interaction and you need some masterwork formation flags to get it to work.’

Doyle, ‘Welp, you just answered another question I had. Would there be any benefit for me to turn my cooling plate into a formation? I noticed I didn’t get an array pattern for any of them, despite using spell circles and everything.’

Ally pulls up the pattern for the “simple” world energy gathering array that Doyle has a pattern for. ‘To get a pattern, you’ll need more complexity. I don’t think you used more than three different runes on any of the arrays in the plate. And no, the circle itself doesn’t count.

‘Just look at the gathering array here. Sure, it is using the standard runes, but that doesn’t stop you from counting them. There are over ten different runes. On the other hand, I’m pretty certain that the array in the plate is literally just a magic circle to draw in electricity and another as a catalyst to enhance the interaction between the two metals.

‘In fact, the most complex array you have going on is the one on the hot side. One rune to draw in world energy, another to turn it into electricity, and a final one to force said electricity into the metal plate. The center array just sips the electricity and improves the reaction, while the cold side rune draws in the electricity and turns it into Mana. There isn’t even an output rune because you aren’t trying to direct. You simply left an opening and allow the conversion rune to overflow.’

Doyle, ‘But then why didn’t I get a pattern for the plate as a whole?’

Ally, ‘No clue. If I had to guess, the system is stricter with what patterns a dungeon can get. Otherwise you’d get cluttered with a ton of patterns for random parts. A nail or a gear is one thing, but do you really want a pattern for each scale in a suit of scale mail? Even just the various pieces of plate mail is going to be a bit silly.

‘This might not even be a system based thing. It could be simply that dungeon cores have a natural tendency to only grab “complete” items. While that plate is technically a thing all by itself, in reality you don’t see it as a separate thing, but something that is a part of a fridge.’

Doyle considers this for a moment before nodding. ‘I can see that. While I haven’t done so, my sword pattern can also include a sheath. Maybe I should start doing that? Anyway, despite having that option and having a few sheaths of various quality dropping in the dungeon, I don’t have a sheath pattern. Rather, each weapon that could have a sheath has it as a possible add-on.’

Ally smiles, ‘That’s a good example. Yeah, I’m sure that if you create a proper array or make a refrigerator with one of those plates, you’ll get the pattern. I’m sure Ace and friends wouldn’t mind getting their hand on one.

‘Magic and your preservation enchantment go a long way, but a simple cold room does wonders for food preservation. After all, it isn’t just multicellular life that gets a boost from magic. Thankfully, diseases and viruses ironically get mutated by magic a lot slower than other things.

‘Even stuff like rocks change quicker. It is sort of ironic that the thing which in a mundane way makes them fast to mutate, makes them slow to adapt to magic. Their lifespan is too short. Magic works on the individual and not the population.

‘It certainly doesn’t help that mitosis in a single cell creature resets their age and most of the accumulated magic escapes. Stuff like bacteria and amoebas take forever to get magical. Oh, and viruses take even longer.

‘They won’t go away, but they basically don’t work on higher-level people without outside interference. It is stupid hard for them to change with magic since they don’t eat anything. Also, while they’re sort of alive, they’re also sort of not alive and super easy for healing spells to handle. About the only downside with diseases is that they get past the species barrier a lot easier even before being changed.’

Swirl Rune - Chapter 382

The Full Status - Chapter 384