MMA: Chapter #31 (Patreon)

Hissing fiercely, a large crypt spider tried to warn Alph away, but rather than back off, he charged forward, his stone-covered hand holding a fierce flame. A few moments later, the burning remains of the spider was kicked to the side as Alph staggered toward the wall, his breath coming in gasps. He had not intended to jump head first into a nest of crypt spiders all by himself, but intent aside, that is exactly what he had done.

Charred corpses covered the ground around him and the stench of burnt spider and sour ichor mixed into a vomit inducing smell. Thankfully, he was practically immune to bad smells because of his profession, but this mix was particularly off putting. An idea sparked in his head and as the gray stone that covered him started to fade away, he began to gather samples of both to see if he could make a potion that would make his enemies sick to their stomachs.

The crypt spider nest was an unbelievable treasure trove of material, and it took hours for Alph to finish harvesting everything. Of particular note were the spider eggs that he was able to find. By harvesting the cocoons that held them, he was able to put them into the medicine box, thereby depositing them in his lab. A few ideas had been brewing now that the medicine box, and more importantly, the alchemist’s insignia had been attached to his logout lab and he was excited to explore what he could do.

Looking around, he couldn’t see anything else of value in the area so he turned away to find a safe place to log out when he caught a bit of movement from the corner of his eyes. A small crypt spider was crawling along the wall, causing his eyes to light up. He was quite interested in the small, web producing spiders and had originally come this way because he was hunting a small one like this. Stumbling into the nest, his fight with the larger crypt spiders had resulted in the death of all of the little spiders that stuck around, so he was excited to find one that had survived.

After a moment of thought, he brought up his [PPS] and put together a mix of plants, producing a viscous, sticky liquid. Getting out the potion that was produced, he crept toward the spider, making sure to stay out of its line of sight as much as possible. When he was about ten feet away, Alph flicked his wrist, throwing the liquid out of the potion toward the wall. As it sprayed through the air, it transformed into a thick foam that splattered on the floor and wall, expanding quickly.

Startled, the small spider tried to escape, only to get one of its legs stuck in some foam that had hit the wall behind it. Struggling, it found itself trapped, and the expanding foam quickly covered half of its body. Rushing forward to capture it, Alph accidentally stepped in a patch of foam and his foot was abruptly anchored to the floor, causing him to jerk to a halt. Having one foot trapped while running forward only had a single result, and as Alph face planted into the ground, he let out a loud groan.

Pushing himself up after he gathered his wits, he sipped a health potion to heal his bruised nose and looked back at his trapped leg. All around the room, the foam was fully expanded, looking like fluffy puffs of bath foam. Yet as soon as anything touched it, it turned into a thick clay-like substance that then hardened into stone. Grumbling, he started mixing something to try and dissolve the foam around his leg. The first couple solutions he tried didn’t work, but eventually he found something that could soften the hardened foam back to its clay-like consistency long enough for him to shake himself free.

“Well, at least I know it's effective,” Alph said, standing up.

The spider on the wall was nearly entirely covered in the hardened foam and wasn’t moving an inch, but Alph knew better than to just reach for it. Instead, he took a chance and got one of his paralysis potions out, dripping a few drops onto the monster. Shaking as the drops hit it, the small spider soon slowed down and stopped moving. Unsure if the paralysis potion had worked, Alph poked it a few times with his dagger. When he didn’t get a response, he began to dissolve the hardened foam that covered its legs.

Once it was detached from the wall, he opened up the largest drawer he had and stuffed the paralyzed creature into it. Holding his breath, he shut the drawer and focused on one of the shelves in his lab. When he felt the transfer happen, he let out a whoop of excitement. Slipping the medicine box onto his back, he logged out, appearing in his lab. Rushing over to the shelf, he saw that the paralyzed spider was sitting there next to the cocoons holding the spider eggs that he had brought back.

“I probably shouldn’t leave that there,” Alph mumbled, his eyes blazing with excitement as he pulled up his browser window and ordered a large terrarium from Fantasia.

Moments later, the large enclosure appeared on one of the nearby tables and Alph transferred the spider into it. The next hour was spent logging in and out of the game as he brought materials from the barrow to add to his spider’s new home. The eggs were added as well, to ensure that he wouldn’t have tiny crypt spiders running around his lab. Stepping back once he was done, Alph couldn’t help but be pleased.

He had gotten a stand for the terrarium and pushed it out into the empty white area that surrounded his lab, so he added another rug and a chair to make it look a little more homey, and then spent some time watching the crypt spider that was just waking up. Frantic at first, the monster soon calmed down and began to cautiously explore its space. The special plastic that the terrarium was made from was unbelievably strong and perfectly clear, allowing Alph to see everything that the small spider did as it got used to its new home.

Curiously, one of the first things the spider did after picking a hole that Alph had made with some stones from the barrow, was move the cocoons into its home and weave a defensive net of thread around the entrance to keep them safe. Absorbed in watching the spider, Alph suddenly had a thought.

“If I can bring pieces of Nova Terra into this space, would I be able to bring soil in as well? I already have those plant boxes that came with the insignia, so other soil should be fine, right?”

As if a madness had grabbed a hold of him, Alph jumped up from his seat, startling the spider who ran to hide behind a rock. Ignoring the monster, Alph strode over to the area that had been added to his lab when the alchemist’s insignia had been bound to him. Originally, the two mental spaces had been smashed together, each fighting to be the dominant space, and the patchwork design on the ground was a reminder of the intense pain he had experienced. Had the fight continued, the result would have been the destruction of his mind, but for whatever reason, they had stopped fighting with each other and melded together practically perfectly.

The space that the insignia contained was divided into three parts, an area with material storage, an area with alchemical books, scrolls, and other texts, and an area with four large planters for growing seeds. Walking over to the planters, Alph crouched down and ran his fingers through the soil, feeling the texture. As far as he could tell, its composition was exactly the same as soil in Nova Terra, and if plants could grow in it, he was pretty sure that his plan would work.

“Myst?”

Feeling a slight shiver in the air behind him, Alph knew that Myst had appeared. Standing up, he brushed his fingers off and gestured to the planters.

“Can I farm in this space?”

“Yes, the planters will work to grow plants,” Myst said, walking up to stand next to him.

“That is not what I asked,” Alph said, glancing at her.

“I am aware,” Myst said, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “And yes, you can farm in this space. Originally, you should have been the only living being apart from me that could exist in this space, but the rules were already bent with your potions, and once the alchemist’s insignia was tied to your mind, the rules were updated once again.”

“Thanks for that, by the way.”

“Thanks for what?” Myst said, looking at Alph skeptically.

“For saving me when I was binding to the insignia,” Alph said, gesturing to the pattern on the ground where the two spaces had merged.

“How do you know it was me?”

“You are the only one strong enough to change this space apart from me, and I didn’t do it,” Alph replied lightly.

“Smart. You are welcome, but I was only doing what I promised when you entered full immersion. Which is going really well, by the way. We are learning all sorts of things.”

Scanning the endless white space nearby, Alph thought for a moment and then pointed at it, sneaking a glance at Myst from the corner of his eyes.

“Want to help me out by making a farm there?”

“Absolutely not,” Myst declared, shaking her head firmly. “I don’t care how much dirt you add to your mind, but I’m not going to help you. I’ve already meddled too much, and I’m not going to keep giving you advantages.”

“Oh, come on,” Alph said, “how much of an advantage is carrying a farm around in your head?”

Rolling her eyes, Myst shook her head.

“Okay, I admit, it would be a pretty big advantage. Actually, I wonder if I could automate it. I’ll need irrigation, though maybe I could use a [Rainfall] potion when I become a master alchemist. Huh, what about people to work it? Hey, can I bring other people in here? Like, could I hire someone to come tend the farm?”

“Absolutely, one hundred percent, no!” Myst said, turning to glare at Alph with such intensity that he quailed. “That would kill both of you. Monsters like that spider are already a stretch, and before you bring any more in, I need to figure out if there will be an adverse effect. But another human is an absolute no.”

Holding his hands up to show that he understood, Alph nodded.

“Got it, no humans. What about NPCs?”

“Are you trying to die?” Myst hissed, her eyes narrowing.

“No, but I figure that since monsters from the game can exist here, an NPC should be able to as well,” Alph said, sticking to his guns despite the intense pressure Myst was giving off.

“Argh! That stupid brain of yours,” Myst growled. “Yes! Fine, yes. If you can find an NPC that wants to come into your mental world, and figure out a way to get them in, yes, you should be fine.”

Excited, Alph pumped his fist in the air.

“Nice!”

Hurrying over to the bookshelf that was packed with books and papers, he hunted for a moment and pulled out a scroll triumphantly. Unfurling it, he showed it to Myst with a grin.

“Master level recipe, [Shrink Person]! I can just transfer them through the medicine box!”

“Of course you thought of that,” Myst said, with a defeated expression. “Look, make sure that before you do this, you mention it to me so I can at least be watching. You know, I’m really starting to regret letting you into the game.”

“Aww, you don’t mean that,” Alph said, giving her his best ingratiating smile. “Things wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without me around.”

“Fun? Is that the word you are choosing?”

Laughing, Alph put the [Shrink Person] recipe back and walked over to one of the desks where he started to sketch out his future farm. For whatever reason, Myst actually stuck around, her eyes glittering with a strange light as she watched him putting his plan together. Plants required all sorts of different conditions to grow, and Alph soon realized that he had a significant problem. Seeing his forehead furrow, Myst raised an eyebrow at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sun. I need a sun for this space. But without a day and night cycle, the plants are going to have a real challenge.”

“Hm, I don’t know that you have the capacity for a sun right now,” Myst said, frowning slightly.

“Capacity?” Alph asked, catching a thread of something important.

“Yeah, this whole space exists in your mind. The reason that you nearly died when the insignia showed up is that you were already almost at capacity. If you imagine your mind as a bowl, your capacity is how much it can carry before it begins to break. I lent you some mental strength to ease the transition, and now you’ve absorbed the capacity of the insignia, which more than doubled your natural mental capacity.

“But adding something like a sun will take you more mental strength than you have. Furthermore, if you put too much strain on your mind, you’ll start to fracture it, which, needless to say, is not a good idea. But there are probably some other alternatives. I know you are thinking about a traditional farm, but who says you have to grow plants like that? How are plants grown in the modern world?”

His eyes lighting up, Alph got another piece of paper out and started sketching again, quickly producing a set of racks that had lights over them and watering systems built in.

“Hydroponics! I can make a hydro farm! That’s perfect.”

“I know,” Myst said, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

One sketch turned into two, and then five, and then a dozen as Alph and Myst began working out the best way to develop a hydroponic farm. Power and water were the two main requirements and according to Myst’s explanation, they would be supplied in spades so long as his mind was strong enough. When they had finished the design, Alph realized that they had been working on it for nearly a dozen hours. Pausing, he looked at the papers spread out on the table and smiled.

“Thank you for your help with this, Myst. Though, I do have a question, since this is going to take up more capacity than I have currently. How do I actually increase my mental strength?”

Leaning back on the stool that she had pulled over, Myst stretched her arms and grinned at him.

“Don’t you have a potion for that?”