Chapter 612: Who Said?

Grey spent the next several hours doing little more than cycling materials through the five chain designs, discarding combinations almost as quickly as he found them.

Anything used for the four rigid chains had to maintain microscopic Curved Faces under absurd amounts of energy while insulating inactive pathways cleanly, while Prometheus’ chain needed an entirely different balance built around the living sap he had settled on.

By the time Grey finally stopped, hundreds of materials had been reduced to a short list that worked together without forcing him to compromise the original idea.

That was when the easier part began.

Grey opened the inventories available to Melix first, then expanded the search to the vaults and stores the former Empires had brought with them after their consolidation.

Most of what he needed appeared almost immediately, including enough high-Class alloys, resins, Neural conductors, and blue Cyber Cores to make Grey grin. Suddenly he understood imperialism. Of course you’d want to conquer everything when wealth came so easily afterward.

Only one material refused to appear.

Grey went over the list twice before accepting that none of the Territories had the sap he needed for Prometheus’ chain. The tree producing it was rare enough already, but its growing conditions made the problem worse, since it needed absurd heat, mineral-rich soil, and enough ambient Fire Energy that most forests would have turned to ash long before a seedling ever took root.

In simple terms, Grey needed to find a tree stupid enough to grow almost directly in the mouth of an active volcano. Luckily, he happened to own a very detailed map now.

Grey pulled up the territorial layout and began scanning regions marked with severe volcanic activity, his attention stopping when one location matched almost every environmental condition listed in the material database.

He zoomed in, stared at the old territorial designation for a few moments, then started laughing when he realized exactly where the closest likely source was located.

Veyrath’s old territory.

Grey looked down at the bracelet around his wrist. "You know, I’m starting to think you and I were destined to meet."

The bracelet immediately became hot enough to make the air shimmer.

Grey’s grin only widened as he studied the map, especially when he considered what had likely happened after the First Arc ended. If the Infernal Arc Clan knew Grey had taken one of their Princes, and Elementals were already launching hurricanes toward Melix, there was a pretty good chance the region was crawling with them by now.

They were probably expecting Grey to sit behind his newly repaired formation and wait for the next attack.

"Well," Grey said, leaning closer to the map. "Who said they’re the only ones that can invade?"

He rubbed his chin while the sensible part of his brain made one last attempt to participate. Prometheus still didn’t have a proper Vessel, which meant Grey’s resurrection remained unreliable at best, and walking voluntarily into an Elemental-controlled territory to harvest tree sap sounded exactly like the kind of decision normal people avoided.

A smart person would probably send scouts, establish how many enemies were there, finish the Prometheus Vessel first, then travel with enough support to guarantee a retreat.

Grey smiled wider.

"Fuck that."

He had given himself three days, and there were still two left.

Grey wasn’t about to waste them sitting in Melix hoping someone else could locate the material he needed, especially when he could reach the region much faster than conventional travel allowed.

He checked the map again, marked several locations between Melix and the volcanic territory, then spent the next stretch of time sketching simplified teleportation platforms that could be deployed as temporary stepping stones rather than permanent city infrastructure.

The territorial blueprint made that easier than it had any right to be. Grey already understood how Melix’s internal teleportation channels interacted with space, so the portable platforms only needed to carry him beyond the established network before another platform caught the signal and threw him forward again.

They wouldn’t be pretty, and Grey definitely wouldn’t trust them for civilian transportation yet, but they would get one reckless asshole across several territories very quickly. And mostly importantly, back quickly too.

Grey found Brad not long afterward, standing near one of the Palace courtyards with the Dominion hammer resting against his shoulder.

"I’m heading out," Grey said as he approached, then handed him a rough map of the route. "Should be back within two days."

Brad looked at the map, then at Grey. "You woke up yesterday."

"Technically."

"Have you heard of, I dunno, relaxing a bit?"

"It’s called being productive."

"It sounds like brain damage."

"Same thing if you’re talented enough. Did I really live life if I can’t go on a CTE podcast rant like my favorite NFL quarterback?"

Brad laughed and tossed the map back, but Grey caught the concern underneath it easily enough. That reminded him of something he had been putting off, and after a moment, he reached into his inventory and pulled out the small disk of Ma Famille along with the Rank UP! reward he had received for clearing the First Arc.

If he was about to leave everyone again, there was no reason to keep sitting on something that could make the entire group stronger.

Grey pressed the two treasures together.

Light exploded through his fingers as the Rank UP! dissolved into Ma Famille, its circuitry brightening while the connections Grey could already feel toward Brad, Elowen, Amunet, Mauve, and Xerchen suddenly became several times clearer. The disk trembled once before settling, and Grey opened its status page.

—

Name: Ma Famille

Rarity: Ascended

Class: Dominus

Accepted Type: N/A

Restricted Type: N/A

Description: The best families share both blood and friendship.

Abilities: The Head of the Table. A Party formed through Borrowed Genius may designate one individual as a Silent Member. The Silent Member does not share Life and Death, but their comprehensions are broadcasted to the family regardless of time or distance. From their position, they carry a vision of objectivity and compounded comprehension, allowing them to view their own enlightenment through the eyes of their family and thus view things from differing perspectives they would have never considered, enhancing their PER and comprehension severalfold.

Set Bonus: Frame Enhancement. Higher percentage of chance of perfect and boosted advancement for all members of the family.

Family: 5/20

—

Grey’s eyes lingered on the five connections for a moment, feeling each of them far more distinctly than he had before.

At the same time, Brad stood around in a daze for a moment as though several things were starting to click for him at once. The last form of Ma Famille was too weak, so it was difficult to use it to get insight on his weapon because it was too high level. It was a Dominus Class treasure, after all. But this version of Ma Famille one was not only Dominus, but also of exceptional Rarity too. Higher Rarity than even his hammer.

Due to that, bits and pieces of Grey’s insight he hadn’t been able to latch onto before were suddenly blown through cleanly. Suddenly, he felt like he had a straight shot to Vanguard Class with ease so long as he had the resources.

Brad blinked awake. "Was that your top-ten reward?"

"One of them."

"And you used it on me?"

Grey looked offended. "Don’t make it gay."

Brad burst out laughing, while Grey pocketed Ma Famille and turned his attention back toward the route leading into Infernal Arc territory. His teleportation platforms were ready, his Mechanical Jaw Spirit finally had a proper Vessel, and somewhere near a volcano there was a tree carrying the last material he needed to begin building Prometheus’ ridiculous new home.

Grey cracked his neck and grinned. Now he just had to fuck up a few Elementals on the way.