Ok, it seems like it's overheating. If we can keep forcing it to use its laser, and maybe heat it up in other ways, we can make it melt.

Smoke would indicate fire. Mel could fly you up and you could cast stream into the stack to bank that flame

>>1123378
Yup. It's using an alternative power source to charge the laser. If you dump the unstable battery's power into the laser when it's already charged, KABLOOEY.

1/1 Silv 2026/03/23(Mon)22:27 No. 1123886 ID: 091137
File 177430482736.png - (662.84KB , 900x750 , 032326_FromNothing2_134_Down4TheCount.png )

>Try turning the Battery Core back on when it's near full charge so it overshoots and blows up a capacitor or something.
>Yup. It's using an alternative power source to charge the laser. If you dump the unstable battery's power into the laser when it's already charged, KABLOOEY.
Still being carried by Mel, Silv tries casting Breakpoint on the battery to cause it to overload.
Unfortunately the spell is only designed to ‘turn off’, and it doesn’t seem like Silv is able to move the effect around.

>Looks like maybe it's using a furnace as a generator? We got anything that can shut down a furnace? Maybe dump some water down the chimney?
>Or something that can block up the chimmney, overheat and overpressure the thing
>smoke would indicate fire. Mel could fly you up and you could cast stream into the stack to bank that flame
They try to get above and out of it’s range, but it isn’t stationary enough for Silv to get any water inside the chimney. She’s also seems to be having a harder time breathing…
Silv is suffering from Mana Depletion. You quickly identify the cause as Breakpoint. It’s causing a sustained effect supplied by Silvs mana.

The Tech Runeling is about to fire!
>Use Tremor to pull up some stone to block the shot!
You quickly wiggle to get Mel's attention and she grabs you.
“Whats wrong?”

You urgently tell her to take cover behind something!

BWEEEEEEEM!!

The laser burns across the piles of debris, just as Mel ducks behind the biggest pile she can find. Silv is breathing heavily, and the Breakpoint effect will fade once she passes out from Mana Depletion…

Wait… Where's Galena?

Galena: Hijack the Titan's power core

Galena help ussss!!!!!!

>>1123886
Galena: Block the smokestack, choke the engine.

>>1123886
Huh? Silv can't stop casting Breakpoint once it affects something?! What an awkward limitation!

Hopefully Galena is doing something useful. Silv is gonna pass out soon since her spell is draining her mana...
Oh, we might be able to finish this fight using a technique we've used earlier... using runes directly! You could fly up and stuff some runes down that chimney. You could try Blast, which is volatile enough to explode on its own, or Corrosion to simply mess with the mechanism. I feel like Blast is our best bet right now, since we don't seem to be doing much damage and an internal explosion is our best bet.
Just make sure Galena isn't about to do a heroic leap out of a building onto it; making it explode when she lands on it would be bad.

>>1123886
Oh no.
Galena?
Where are you?

Scan.

Hmm, Silv ought to be able to cease breakpoint. Silv see if you can sense the spell and maybe dismiss it. Not like you can do anything else in your condition.

Yeah, we can Scan for Galena.

Warn Mel: When you do pass out, Breakpoint will end and the power surge will probably nuke the Runeling, but also the laser might have a sudden surge of power.

1/5 Silv 2026/04/03(Fri)18:43 No. 1124269 ID: 091137
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>Huh? Silv can't stop casting Breakpoint once it affects something?! What an awkward limitation!
>Hmm, Silv ought to be able to cease breakpoint. Silv see if you can sense the spell and maybe dismiss it. Not like you can do anything else in your condition.
You try to get Silv to dismiss the Breakpoint spell effect, but she’s too out of it to really comprehend what you’re telling her.

>Warn Mel: When you do pass out, Breakpoint will end and the power surge will probably nuke the Runeling, but also the laser might have a sudden surge of power.
You tap yourself into Mel, and speak to her.
“You’ve gotta be kidding…!”

Mel grabs you and Silv, and flies further behind a larger pile of debris. It bellows, attempting to follow you, but stumbling. Whatever it did, it seems to have tired it out.

2/5 Silv 2026/04/03(Fri)18:44 No. 1124270 ID: 091137
File 177524186476.png - (275.21KB , 900x750 , 033126_FromNothing2_136_ZoomZoom.png )

>Galena: Hijack the Titan's power core
>Galena help ussss!!!!!!
>Galena: Block the smokestack, choke the engine.
>Oh no. Galena? Where are you?
You have no mouth, and yet you must scream! Your communication limitations are very annoying in situations like this!

>Scan for Galena.
Unfortunately you can’t scan for something as specific as her or at this close a range…

3/5 Silv 2026/04/03(Fri)18:44 No. 1124271 ID: 091137
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CRASH!!!

You watch as Galena jumps through a 3rd story window.

4/5 Silv 2026/04/03(Fri)18:45 No. 1124272 ID: 091137
File 177524192473.png - (454.89KB , 900x750 , 033126_FromNothing2_138_Krackle.png )

She flips over the Runeling, striking the battery, and landing on the ground with a thud.

Silv passes out from Mana Depletion.

5/5 Silv 2026/04/03(Fri)18:45 No. 1124273 ID: 091137
File 177524194526.png - (496.18KB , 900x750 , 033126_FromNothing2_139_KaBoom.png )

The effect of Breakpoint is dismissed.

KA-BOOM!

The core reactivates, emitting sparks. A thunderous explosion sounds out, toppling the Runeling, crashing it into the ground.
“...Holy shit.”

“Miss Mel, please mind your language around Master Silv. Also, please finish off the monster, as my weapons have broken. I shall tend to Master Silv.”

“Oh, uh, sure, on it!” , she says, flying off toward the Runeling to give it a pelting.
Galena kneels down, and rests Silvs head on her lap.

well one thing you can definitely say about Galena is she has amazing timing.

But yeah 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.

>>1124273
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.

Good work everyone.

Galena, please throw a rock into the tech runeling's GIANT WOUND.

Masterfully done Galena, thank you.

This will have to be the last time we take an untested spell into the field.
Silv needs rest and electrolytes.

Where'd Fern go?

>>1124273
You are the best robot big sister ever galena.

>>1124329
see
>>1121176
>Fern stands guard with the shovel at home.

Whoahhhh, you are really cool Galena!!

>>1124273
Compliment Galena on her badassery

1/1 Galena 2026/04/09(Thu)23:55 No. 1124937 ID: 091137
File 177577894795.png - (212.20KB , 687x687 , 040926_FromNothing2_140_.png )

>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!!