Chapter 91: Catalyst

The moment Keon authorized the trade, the magic crystals on the platform vanished, dematerialized into the dimensional fold for transfer to the other side. Almost simultaneously, the reality of the warehouse space warped as the return shipment materialized.

A mountain of luminous crystals shimmering, radiant… appeared in the center of the warehouse, growing rapidly until it filled a corner of the warehouse’s total area.

The light they emitted was blinding, a soft, pulsating brilliance that bathed the sterile room in an ethereal, rhythmic glow.

‘Very well,’ Keon thought, his internal processors calculating the volume as he glanced at the one thousand three hundred tons of luminous material. ‘These are enough to arm my UHS1 to the teeth and create the planetary-scale reactors that I intended to build.’

The logistical bottleneck had finally been shattered. He didn't just see a pile of crystals; he saw the energy requirements for the Phase 6 defensive grid, the fuel for the upcoming interstellar exploration, and the raw potential to finally integrate the runic-based extraction technology at a global level.

He turned his attention toward the ceiling, already mapping the conduit placement for the new reactor assembly. The transition from a static base to a self-sustaining planetary entity was now an inevitability.

…

On the other side, Universe 339,

The arid, jagged landscape was momentarily lit by a sudden, humming brilliance. A pile of yellow magic crystals manifested in the center of the vast, crystal-strewn plain, their glow casting long, distorted shadows across the glass-strewn ground.

The Crystal Beast, currently a dense, rolling sphere of jagged glass and obsidian spikes, skidded to a halt, the sound of her movement like a thousand windows shattering. She sensed the energy immediately... a foreign, pulsating rhythm that made the very air around her vibrate.

'So this is a magic crystal,' she thought, observing the heap of Tier 1 magic crystal in front of her. 'Although I hate yellow... it contains strange and attractive energy.'

She rolled forward, her heavy mass crushing the surrounding crystal floor. With a sharp, decisive movement, she extended a single, elongated spike and pressed it into the center of the mound.

Crystal Devour!

The reaction was immediate. The crystals didn't scatter; they liquefied, their essence flooding her internal lattice. A shockwave of pure, yellow energy surged through her. As all the magic energy along with the crystal was devoured, she activated another one of her abilities.

Crystal Transformation!

The yellow magic color spread through her whole body spikes and disappeared in her middle core, then her figure enlarged, her mass shifting and bloating until she stood rivaling the surrounding peaks. Her round, spiky body squirmed and elongated, the crystalline matter rearranging itself with a wet, grinding sound.

In seconds, the spiky sphere had vanished, replaced by a giant humanoid crystal figure. It was as if she were carved from polished glass, her spikes pulled and stretched into lengthy, jagged hair that flowed behind her like a mantle of sharpened obsidian.

She turned her gaze toward the distant purple crystal mountain peak... the source of the strongest lightning in her domain.

'Purple lightning crystal is the strongest form of crystal here, filled with overbearing lightning energy.' she mused, the thought vibrating with her head. 'I should try the direct physical magic effect, then I will explore other uses of this energy later.'

She took a heavy step forward, the terrain trembling, the ground fissuring under her weight. She raised a glass finger, gathering the yellow energy from the deepest parts of her current form. The air ionized and a concentrated beam shot out from her fingertip.

Crystal Reflection!

With a sizzling, high-pitched scream of energy, the beam impacted the purple mountain. Dust and light scattered, but as the glow dissipated, the mountain remained unscathed. Her glassy pupil flickered.

‘The magic energy concentration is low and it will take years for me to generate and increase the concentration of this energy.’

She thought, her mind processing the failure. ‘Anyway, I have already gained the magic energy source permanently, my body will generate it constantly. Also, the magic energy doesn’t look overbearing like lightning energy. It is not meant for physical attacks, I should try mixing it with other energy sources and see the effect.’

She did not falter and pointed her finger once again toward the peak, shifting the internal frequency of her body. She reached into the depths of her lattice, pulling out the raw, violent purple source of energy she had gained previously and mixing it with the magic energy source she gained just now.

Crackle!

The air popped, a heavy, dense bolt of purple gold lightning surged, piercing through the purple peak with the force of an artillery shell. A hole remained, jagged and scorched, from which trapped lightning hissed and flickered, escaping into the air like trapped spirits.

Her pupil shone with intense light as she observed the lingering devastation. The purple peak, once a majestic sentinel of the lightning plains, now groaned under the weight of her assault, its surface pockmarked by the violent discharge.

‘Fifty percent,’ she thought, the realization processing through her core like a sudden surge of voltage. The magic energy acts as a force multiplier, not just an addition.

She didn't let the momentum die. She raised her finger once again, the gesture fluid and precise. This time, she didn't reach for the lightning. She tapped into her internal reservoirs, drawing out the scorching red source of fire energy, the piercing, bright source of pure light, and the turbulent cyan source of storm energy.

She didn't fire them sequentially; she layered them, weaving the raw, chaotic elemental signatures together with the humming, stabilized yellow magic energy.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The impacts were deafening. Where the fire beam struck, the purple crystal liquefied instantly, turning into molten slag. When the light beam hit, it bored through the mountain with the surgical precision of a needle, leaving clean, cauterized holes.

And the wind scythes... these were the most terrifying... infused with the magic energy, they hummed with a razor-sharp frequency. They didn't just strike the mountain; they dismantled it, shearing off massive, jagged slabs of purple crystal that tumbled down the slopes, crushing the terrain below.

She stopped, her hand lowered, and looked at the ruin of the peak. It was a skeleton of its former self, riddled with holes, deep, jagged cracks spider-webbing across its surface like shattered glass.

She stood still, her glassy eyes analyzing the residual energy signatures. The test was successful, but the ceiling was apparent.

‘These magic crystals are definitely low grade,’ she thought, her internal logic processing the limitation. ‘Although I have gained another kind of energy permanently, it is not comparable to the raw, surging power of the lightning energy I harvest. It works like a catalyst, but a weak one.’

She gazed at the horizon, her consciousness drifting to the memories of "Home Planet Earth"... the fragments of novels and anime she had watched in the days of her previous life. She remembered the hierarchies: the low-grade, the mid-grade, the high-grade. According to such setting, she felt the current yellow crystals were the bare minimum.

‘I have to ask him about higher grade magic crystals,’ she decided, the plan forming with cold, strategic clarity. ‘In order to increase the concentration process, I need a denser medium. If there is a high-grade crystal better than this one and he is unwilling to trade, then I will have to offer something else beside the light crystal. Or should I create the mountains of magic crystal to increase the concentration of magic energy through nature, just like i did with other lightning, flame, light and storm crystals.’

An intriguing light flashed through the crystal beast's pupils, thinking of different ways to increase the concentration of magic energy in her body.

She turned her back on the smoking, ruined lightning peak, her massive form shimmering and transforming back into her usual form. A round spiky crystal beast, after that she glanced at the many beasts rolling around in this plane. If someone observes these beasts they would be surprised as each and every beast looks exactly in feature and shape like her. As if all of them are her clones.

The crystal beast then released a command. “All of you come here, I have a task for you.”

All of the beast halted and then they rolled toward her passing through every obstacle in their way, in just a while all of them halted in front of her in line writing for her order.

Crystal Generation!

The crystal beast then shook and shot a barrage of yellow spikes which skidded on the crystal floor and halted in front of these clones, “I have found a new crystal source, now I permit you to use my crystal generation talent, and create the mountains of this magic crystal, just like the one you built before. Also, repair the lightning mountain I just destroyed.”

The beast clones immediately moved and started taking away the yellow spikes, containing all the properties of Tier 1 yellow magic crystals. All of them rolled away toward the barren lands around in order to complete the task.

…