1/1 Galena 2026/04/09(Thu)23:55 No. 1124937 ID: 091137
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>Masterfully done Galena, thank you.
>well one thing you can definitely say about Galena is she has amazing timing.
>Compliment Galena on her badassery
>You are the best robot big sister ever galena.
“Thank you Master Tetsi.”

>Ahh... we need to get Galena some new weapons. Some from the museum, maybe? Should probably get spares as well, enough to last until we can make more ourselves.
“The weapons from the museum are over 300 years old, they are not structurally sound. Also, I am not programmed for combat. I simply swung at a pest.”

>what do you know about mana depletion? Is it similar to exhaustion where you just feel tired for a while or are their other things we need to worry about? Do we need to feed her things that are blue? I heard blue things help restore mana.
>This will have to be the last time we take an untested spell into the field.
Silv needs rest and electrolytes.
“I do not know it exactly, but I know mages can cast using exterior mana and their own internal reserves. I imagine it’s something like one's stamina when running. Master Silv is young, so she likely doesn't have a large reserve of mana for casting, and there is no ambient mana for her to draw from, otherwise the Beacon Towers would be active.”

A short bit later, the sound of the Runeling exploding is heard.

x38 Tech runes obtained, bringing the total currently present to 41.
x12 Voidmatter obtained.

Galena tasks Mel with comforting Silv, while she goes to find crates and materials to transport stuff in. Anything you’d like to talk to Mel about in the meanwhile?

>>1124937
Galena is so humble. ...what the heck are Beacon Towers?

Hey Mel, know anything about how to increase mana reserves? Actually, anything you can tell us about spellcasting would be great. Silv has some memory issues and can't remember all her lessons.

Right, now that the main threat is out of the way...

1) With the death of the Tech Runeling, the city has become a low-risk, medium-reward area. We need to spend most of our remaining time looting as much of this city as possible. Galena, you know better than any other person alive where the best loot is. Not just the most expensive or most powerful, but the stuff that can help us grow more stuff. Seeds, cores, entire golem factories... anything and everything is on the table, though I expect transportation to be first on the list.
2) We're running out of 'slots' for voidling maintenance. Sure, we could increase our livable space and resources, but what we're sorely lacking is 'trust'. If we don't have dedicated and skilled ranchers maintaining our voidlings, it's only a matter of time before we accidentally put two rivals together and they start a turf war, or one of them trips into the rune storage and becomes a runeling. Which means we need to be more selective of which voidlings we recruit from now on. We should come up with some kind of sidequest during the looting, where we observe voidlings in their natural state and see what our ranching program should evolve towards; diversity, or breeding?
3) We still need to spend a little time scavenging the frost city. Our goal there should be to collect as much data as possible; most modernized cities get plasticine in nature, the food becomes an unhealthy slop compressed into sausages and every other tool is filled with poisonous materials. Miniaturization and increasingly incomprehensible public tech ruins the ability to personally diagnose your own stuff. But the art? Even the slop has grains of meaning if you know where to find it. We'll need to collect enough anime and games to keep Silv and Mel entertained, or this trip might develop cabin fever in a matter of months.

So... how are you handling being woken up after everything and the new body? Not sure we really had time to ask before getting swept up in everything but are you doing ok? Since we have a good moment to rest figured a wellness check would probably be appropriate.

>>1124937
If she can't draw from ambient mana, can we transfer mana to her from some other source?

>>1124938
Knowing more about Mel's methods of magic might be a good idea, yeah.

How have you been surviving all of this stuff, Mel?

How much do you understand tech stuff Mel? Now that we have all these tech runes we could expand the island with something really useful.

>>1124937
>I simply swung at a pest
If you're strong and quick enough, swinging is all you need to do.

>>1124942
Silv's too young for a mana transfer

>>1124937
Hey.
Hey.
Mel?
Thanks for watching out for silv.
We do our best but we cant do it alone against the big stuff.
So, thanks.
To pay you back im going to use your phone number only for emergencies and pictures of cute voidlings.
Hey.
What happens if we try to phone you when your wand is active?

>>1124938
Im pretty sure its those big ass towers around

1/2 Mel 2026/04/23(Thu)01:08 No. 1125785 ID: 091137
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>know anything about how to increase mana reserves? Actually, anything you can tell us about spellcasting would be great. Silv has some memory issues and can't remember all her lessons.
>Knowing more about Mel's methods of magic might be a good idea, yeah.
“Uhh, not really. Only thing I can think of is just constantly pushing yourself? At least that's how it works for magical girls according to Rhapsodic. ‘Magical girls get stronger by pushing their potential and beating darkness’ and stuff like that. They said a lot of stuff about potential also being bad without limits…”, Mel trails off.

>How have you been surviving all of this stuff, Mel?
“Eh, never expected to be sent outside of reality to a literal void. Other than that, at least I don’t have to pay taxes now I guess.”

>Hey. Hey. Mel? Thanks for watching out for silv. We do our best but we cant do it alone against the big stuff. So, thanks. To pay you back im going to use your phone number only for emergencies and pictures of cute voidlings.
>Hey. What happens if we try to phone you when your wand is active?
“Yeah yeah you weird stick, thanks.”

Mel transforms her phone into her wand, and you try calling her. You get no connection.
“Guess you can’t talk to me when it’s transformed.”

>How much do you understand tech stuff Mel? Now that we have all these tech runes we could expand the island with something really useful.
“I know next to nothing except some basic stuff I guess. I had to fix a few things at the orphanage now and then.”

—

After a while, Galena returns with several empty crates, some already filled partially with scrap.
>>1124939
“Unfortunately, anything of major value has long decayed. This frame is an exception due to it having been set in preservation at the museum prior. Master Silv has yet to awaken, so I shall retrieve what I can. This crate here can be used for the materials from the Runeling, while I go scavenge what I can.”
Galena quickly departs once again.

2/2 Silv 2026/04/23(Thu)01:09 No. 1125786 ID: 091137
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After a bit, Silv regains consciousness, and helps Mel put the Runeling drops into a crate. Galena returns a while after with what she could find of use.

Total amount gained this trip:
49 Runes.
12 Voidmatter.
5 Golem parts.
13 Metal Junk.

You all head back to the home island, with your materials in tow, and stash them. You all chat around the fire and eat dinner.
The next ‘morning’, you, Silv, Galena, and Mel will use the final day to scavenge the frozen city.

Order these in terms of priority:
Food/Supplies
Runes/Voidmatter
Other?

>>1125786
Food and supplies. I guess there's no hope for recovering any useful organic materials such as cloth and rope... even nylon rope decays.
What about information? If there are any databanks left that we can power up and learn from, we won't have much more opportunity to do so.

Prioritize hard drives. Nab the parts from every computer you can get your hands on.
And maybe a DVD box set for entertainment.

Past that, look for potatoes, mushrooms, and any seeds you can find.

>>1125786
Other?
Cultural artifacts. Books, clothes, works of art, religious icons, anything unique to the civilization that inhabited this place. There are things that can be found in many places, and things that can only be found here.

Oh yeah, try to find any written text. books, papers, plaques, we could find out more about this world.

These are for the snowy area where Mel is from.

>>1125786
Im guessing food and supplies covers small scale building material.
Hmm.
Everywhere weve been has a uniqueness to it, but it seems like a missed opportunity to just gather food etc.
Especially when weve made inroads to growing our own so...

Hey, galena?
Did the folk of this city ever set up something like a seed bank?
They seemed pretty keen on archiving stuff with the museum. Whether its an apocalypse proof vault or museum long term storage, that kind of thing would be a part of this fragment worth trying to save.
Not just for the variety of things silv could grow from it, but to give that life another shot.

>>1125786
Food. We have more mouths to feed now, so we'll need a good stockpile until we get better agriculture set up. Mel's world island should have some good canned, preserved or otherwise stockpilable foods to keep meat in your bones.

>>1125794
How specific should we be about other things to look for?

Food and supplies, we don't know how hard it will be to find more
Art, Mel should take the lead here. She'll know best where to find it, and what she'll miss the most if its not retrieved now.
Runes can be picked up along the way, its not much of a priority right now.

>>1125786
Hey, now we can try building more Golems for our dead pals, like the less-evil half of that spider and that cold angry witch!

food and supplies, we need to build more tents at a bear minimum for all the extra bodies we have now and food to feed said bodies.

food!! and!! supplies!!

1/2 Silv 2026/05/02(Sat)23:56 No. 1126137 ID: 091137
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>Hey, galena? Did the folk of your city ever set up something like a seed bank?
“No, even if they did, that part of the city is most likely gone.”

Votes:
Food/Supplies: 9
Runes/Voidmatter: 0
Other: 0

“I’ve kinda always wanted to do this!”
Mel is having too much fun breaking into the abandoned stores and apartments. After a while, you’ve gotten a collection of pots and pans, some tools, rope, canned food and drinks, books, paper, and a couple of sleeping bags and blankets.

Despite there still being snow everywhere, it is considerably warmer than it was the last time you were here. You take this opportunity to try to grab some more runes from the Ice Runelings around. Oddly, you don’t see any Skeptiks around.

After a few hours and trips to and from your home, you've gained:

+Kitchenware
+Tools and Rope
+Books,Paper, Misc.
+Sleebing Bags and Blankets
x22 Supplies
x18 Runes
x11 Voidmatter

2/2 Silv 2026/05/02(Sat)23:56 No. 1126138 ID: 091137
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Galena and Mel are organizing the stuff you got, meanwhile, you and Silv look out at the islands as they start to drift away further.
“This is nice Tetsi… we’ve got new friends, a home… I wish I could remember more things though.”

You think of how to reply, when something catches your attention.

INSPECT THE ‘STAR’.

”...Did you say something Tetsi?”

Oh fuck evil star scary star what do we do SILV HIDE OR SOMETHING

>>1126138
oh it's back
>>1108391
Hey Mel, see that star up there? Does it remind you of anything? I ask because it looks magical and seems to be hanging around your island and with you being a magic and all I was wondering if it might mean anything to you.

Galena and Mel, have you ever seen anything like that star before? wondering why it's hanging around your islands.

It feels like we're better off only observing it and not inspecting.

>>1126138
Identify!

Fairly certain we asked Galena about the star beforeand she knew nothing. I remember that we DO have to get closer to identify it though. I say we go for it, we might not get this close to a 'star' again

Mel's ready to fight the Skeptik's leader, right? Right?!

>>1126146
NO, YOU FOOL! CANCEL COMMAND! CANCEL THE SCAN NOW, BEFORE IT HACKS US!

>>1126146
>>1126149
spoiler alert, you're too far away to scan it.

>>1126152
awwww

We are being watched.

Combine Darkness + Eldritch, see if we can create something like a Cloak or Hide Rune. Something to conceal our little island. Not just from whatever this is, but from the colossal voidlings out there.

Hm? Oh. Sorry.
Distracted by something shiny.
Yeah, its nice to have folk around.
The memories may return, may not.
The important thing is youre making new ones with many new friends. Theyre all pretty nice. Even the angry one with the far too jiggly butt. Mel.

>>1126164
This is a worthwhile endeavour.
Even if we cant scale to cover a full island yet a SHROUD spell for hiding would be very useful in many situations. Especially if it can be tuned to block different senses.

Why are we so against looking at it? Its been there the whole time since the two islands showed up, if i understanf that right

Hmm I kindof want to make a telescope spell but I don't think we have good runes to apply here. Light is *related* to sight, I suppose, and Eldritch *might* be weird enough to convince the magic to magnify that light?

I'd rather try fusing runes until we get Sight, and maybe something related to distortion or size. Maybe we can get there by fusing Ice and Ore(or Tremor) to get Crystal, then Crystal with Light?

...Silv. The central shape is of a Darkness rune. There's extra disconnected lines radiating off of it, but... This is very concerning. Maybe we should try to make some sort of countermeasure. A stronger Light rune maybe?
I wonder what Primal+Light would give us, or Light+Life. Also Light+Light.

>>1126280
I think you're cooking on the telescope spell idea. But yeah, we might need more Light-derivative conceptual runes.

One of the things I was thinking about doing with Light runes is making a shield for the island. I wonder if it would be as simple as shoving Light runes into the nexus?
Alternatively, we did find out that putting a bunch of runes of one type in the same area has effects on the surrounding terrain. What if we just put a bunch of Light runes in a pile?

1/1 Silv 2026/05/12(Tue)00:09 No. 1126679 ID: 091137
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>Hm? Oh. Sorry. Distracted by something shiny. Yeah, its nice to have folk around. The memories may return, may not. The important thing is youre making new ones with many new friends. Theyre all pretty nice. Even the angry one with the far too jiggly butt. Mel.
”I’m not gonna tell Mel you said that, she’d probably bury under a pile of rocks…”

>Rune combo ideas:
>Darkness + Eldritch, see if we can create something like a Cloak or Hide Rune.
>I kind of want to make a telescope spell but I don't think we have good runes to apply here. Light is *related* to sight, I suppose, and Eldritch *might* be weird enough to convince the magic to magnify that light? I'd rather try fusing runes until we get Sight, and maybe something related to distortion or size. Maybe we can get there by fusing Ice and Ore(or Tremor) to get Crystal, then Crystal with Light?
”I thought we were gonna save the runes for a big island expansion Tetsi…”

>Mention the star, and if you should go investigate.
>Galena and Mel, have you ever seen anything like that star before? wondering why it's hanging around your islands.
>The central shape is of a Darkness rune. There's extra disconnected lines radiating off of it, but... This is very concerning.
“Mel I asked Galena this before, but do you know what that star is? Tetsi pointed out it has some shape similarities to the Darkness Rune.”

“Nope, no idea. It was here when I arrived. Can’t you use Identify on it or something?"

“It’s too far away, we’d have to float up to it, but Tetsi is concerned.”

“If you would like to investigate it Master Silv, either me or Mel may accompany you if it would put Master Tetsi’s fears at ease.”

Choice:
Go alone.
Go with Mel.
Go with Galena.
Don’t go. (Ill advised.)

>Go alone.
I know this means go with Silv but I can't help but imagine that this option means that Silv will just chuck us towards the star and hope for the best.

>Go with Mel.
Going to pick Mel because I feel that she has the most knowledge on magic related things and the start feels magical. Sad though that plant buddy doesn't seem to want to come with us. We haven't hanged out in awhile.

Yeah since Mel has magic experience she might be able to pick up some vibes

>>1126682
ok i legit cannot un-imagine a TerminalMontage animation of Tetsi being thrown

>>1126679
It's out there in the void. We can't maneuver out there; only Mel can fly. So the choice is obvious, have Mel fly us out there so we can Identify it.

...Actually, can we maneuver in the void? Flinging ourselves out towards points of interest has worked so far, but was that just because Silv is really good at going the right direction or is there some course correction possible?

Galena, flip a coin and harvest one of the islands at its edge. We'll call you if we need help. Mel, take point.

>>1126679
>I thought we were gonna save the runes for a big island expansion Tetsi
In defense of the Cloak/Hide rune idea, the idea was to make a cloaking field to keep the island from being noticed and devoured by the giant voidlings as we make it bigger.

But yes, go with Mel. For one, she can fly!

>>1126679
Jiggles.
I mean Mel.
She could do with the exercise.
Aw, im just kidding silv. Shes cool.
Dont tell her that bit.

Hey, galena, see if you can find our sprout pal. Theyve been awfully quiet lately.