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"Good point, we should add the head then too. What will our mana storages be?" Eldrian asked and Two didn't have an answer. Runes made use of mana, they couldn't act as batteries.

The use of the capacity rune was with the hope that it would subtly increase Eldrain's body's mana capacity. Outside of that, a loop was simply a nice form to attach more paths to. There wasn't more to it, it could also have been a star or anything else- a loop simply had the benefit of not having limited points to connect to.

Continuing on, the two narrowed down their plan while ignoring the problem of mana storage for now.

They modified the skeleton blueprint until it would function properly as a mana network, allocating mana to where it might be needed and storing massive amounts -hopefully- in the mana storages. Thanks to their alterations it looked more and more like some weird robotic skeleton.

Still humanoid in form, but not quite human (or elven, in this case).

"How are we going to add the other runes?" Two questioned, it was something that he and Eldrian had been wondering about for a while now.

Rune of capacity was easy, simply make it part of the pathway and thus include it in the network. It just worked out perfectly that its shape could fit into the pathways so readily. Whether it would still work as a rune they weren't even sure.

For the other runes, it wasn't exactly like it could be repeated with all runes. There were only a few runes that had such simple forms. And it wasn't like a mana network was physical. They couldn't engrave runes onto the pathways themselves.

"Let's not worry about that now. The skeleton is quite complex, and while I believe we won't struggle too much to create it, I don't think it will be easy. Our limit might be it plus the mana crystals."

"Though I guess..." Eldrian started and Two already started to whine. "We might be able to add a few runes of amplification at the mana storages."

"You do know that is going to fuck us up, right?" Two's comment caused Eldrian to burst out laughing.

"I know, that is why we won't always have them active. We will only make use of them before a serious fight, to temporarily increase our capabilities to handle the situation." Eldrian said, Two quickly understanding what the plan was in this case.

Two nodded, "What about other runes we wanted to add?"

"You know the plan, we'll add enhancement types at key points. But we first need to experiment with runic skills, and figure out if it is actually a thing. We got distracted."

"Don't you want to stall until we have all the answers?" Two asked, a little apprehensive about starting this massive project while almost blind in regards to this new way of using magic.

While runic casting had worked, it had also proven to them that it was different from what they had initially thought.

In the original plan, it was actually to first make the pathways and then add runes by actually engraving them into their bones or onto their skin. It would have stung like a bitch, but it was sure to work.

This, keeping it ethereal, it made things far less clear going forward. But it would also not be permanent, which was certainly a massive plus.

"Stall? We can't, this pause to wait for us to become stronger is already costing lives. We need to clear the remaining undead hordes, but I fear doing so before reaching Tier 5. I'm pretty sure Evale won't be the only one joining us, and if things go south I don't want her to be our only hope of surviving. I even less want to be pushed beyond my limits-- considering everything."

Two nodded, getting chills at the idea of what catastrophe they might create if they lost control now. Now that they had started to connect more easily with their auras, and had unlocked their bloodline.

And considering what had happened, there was no way that Vivian would stay behind. Ceph would also likely join, currently, they would certainly beat Eldrian in a melee. That wasn't a problem. Eldrian loved that they had grown stronger, but with them there. He understood he would do everything he was capable of to ensure they survived.

"So, when will we start?" Two asked.

"Let's first nail down the flow of how we will start. I think our first focus should be the chest, building out from the heart. We can also connect all the rib paths to it, forming a type of web."

Two nodded, "You're thinking then we go to the shoulders and pelvis?"

"Yes, if we only do a skeletal form of the spine to them, the pressure on you should still be mild."

Two nodded, in this task it had long since been determined that his focus would be keeping things stable while Eldrian added more and more. When they both reached their limit, they would call it.

"So, after we have the upper body, we can decide to do the head or the limbs next." Eldrian continued, "I'm inclined to do the limbs first, since the head should be rather simple."

Two nodded.

"We will split the femur (thigh) in half, adding one more connection point here, same with the humerus (upper arm). And we will form a web between the ulna and radius (forearm), as well as the tibia and fibula (leg)."

"Fingers and toes?" Two questioned.

"Depending on how we are feeling at that point, we will add them or we will stop at the joints. We will need quite some focus left at that point. I want to fill our new mana storages and the entire pathway to see the extent of our improvement."

"If, on the other hand, the pressure is still not much, we might even go ahead and include the connecting and mimicking of some organs," Eldrian added, though neither expected them to be able to go so far.

His previous design was truly not too bad, it was more just a problem that it wasn't built with foresight. Thus it would be near impossible to continue to add more to it, not without making it simply too convoluted.

With everything planned, Eldrian cleared his mind. Slowly opening a third-person view of himself, sitting in a meditation pose in the middle of the room.

"You sure about doing it from here?" Two asked.

"Yes, the disconnect will give us a clearer picture."

"But it will also make it harder to know when our avatar is at its limit."

"Which is why we are doing it in the simulation and not in real life." Eldrian countered back, while it was true that if he actually occupied the avatar and worked from there they would know when they must stop. But it would massively hinder what they would be able to do.

"Alright, then let's start."

Nodding, Eldrian started connecting with his avatar but stopped himself from actually entering it. He wanted to only connect to the mana, leaving the rest out of his mind.

It took a few minutes to get the connection going properly, once it was done Eldrian could finally move the mana freely from within his mental space. He started by deconstructing the previous pathways. Slowly pushing all the mana back into his heart.

AN: Thank you, everyone, for continuing to read and support the story on Web.