The clouds of golden smoke vanished in an overwhelming flash of blue light, accompanied by the potent smell of Technology filling the air. Then it subsided, and normalcy returned.

Oliver collapsed to the ground like a puppet with his strings cut, his staff clattering along the platform and threatening to roll off the edge.

Before it could do so, and while most of them were still recovering from the drastic change in their surroundings, Alyssa was already moving. She darted forwards, scooping up Oliver in her arms.

"Clark, where do you- Can you do anything with him?"

Clark was still somewhat frozen in place, leaving Jacob to speak instead, "He needs to be somewhere warded, and not here. Get him to the hut and set him on a bunk there."

By the time Henrietta's muscles had slackened enough for her to properly move, Alyssa had already taken the unconscious Artificer and leaped off the platform. As she did so, Henrietta grabbed Oliver's staff before it could fall the fifteen-or-so meters to the rocks below.

She'd need to confirm with Oliver what exactly had happened with him, but she felt she understood the broad strokes. He'd had an accident of some kind maybe been interrupted while creating their System node, that had spawned a swell of Dragon mana, and he had overworked himself getting it back under control. The rest of them had done their best to aid him in whatever ways they could, but Henrietta didn't know if they'd actually helped.

Then again, perhaps there was some magical potency that came with every member of a species on a world participating in or assisting with a ritual. She didn't know if it had been done before. That was slim consolation, though.

"Haleford!" she called to get their Healer's attention. He was still standing somewhat stupefied in his corner, and clearly needed something to get him thinking again, "Make sure Smith is alright."

He gave a sloppy salute as an acknowledgment, then scampered down the ladder in rapid pursuit, leaving only Jacob and Henrietta on top of the tower they'd built over the previous weeks. By design, it protruded well above The Jungle's canopy, giving Henrietta an unparalleled view of the rolling wilderness that stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. They'd come so far, and yet... so far yet to go.

She wasn't paying much attention to that, though. Instead, she was scouring the magical circle with Oliver's staff in-hand, making sure there weren't any subtle twinges of Dragon still lingering about. Jacob caught her eye as she did so, a question clearly conveyed, Do you want to talk to me?

Henrietta replied with a shake of her head, "Go check on Smith. You're the most familiar with what that might have done to him."

Alyssa had made it to the far end of the rock spire they'd built their tower on, and had started jumping down the forty-meter cliff to where their camp was below. Clark had just made it to the bottom of the ladder, meaning it was safe for Jacob to likewise descend.

As he did so, Henrietta turned her eye back towards the magic circles Oliver had created atop their First Tower on the new world. She understood it well enough, given she'd worked with the man in the design and creation stages of it, but portions of it were still beyond her. That made it difficult to truly tell if there were any hidden snags left over from the extreme fountain of wild magic mere minutes ago, but she did her best anyway.

There definitely wasn't any new sources of elemental Dragon, at least. Her arcanoception let her tell that there had been a lot of it around recently, but it was now but a lingering scent, a faint musk that was growing fainter as she went along. Eventually, there would be no trace of it whatsoever.

With the staff, she gently traced out the now-deactivated enchantment. She tried not to delay, but she was also certain to make sure she didn't miss anything. Fortunately, it seemed as though Oliver had been very effective in his work. The three interlocking circles designed to let them level and start utilizing their Systems again were very clearly ready for use, but right now had almost no power flowing through them.

Henrietta sighed in relief, and gave herself a few moments to look out over The Jungle. The vibrant, wild, and utterly untamed wilderness may have stretched out as far as the eye could see, but for the first time since their Jump, Henrietta... didn't feel overwhelmed at the sight.

There was hope. And once Oliver woke up, she'd find out just how much they'd succeeded and how far there was yet to go.

"How's he doing?" Henrietta couldn't see very much in the hut - despite the eternal daylight, the wards on the hut kept the interior permanently shrouded in darkness. It even suppressed sources of light on the inside, something that usually wasn't particularly relevant but she immediately noticed thanks to the occupants in question.

Oliver was glowing.

He was lying on one of the solid reed bunks built into the wall of their hut, entirely limp but breathing steadily, and stretching across his body were a number of lines and circles that bore a distinct resemblance to Parengelic symbols and overall gave the impression of a circuit board having been printed all over their Artificer's skin.

Currently, they were all slowly pulsing with faint blue light, originating from where his spine met his neck and radiating outwards. Though, Henrietta supposed, she wasn't sure if they were only glowing faintly, or if the Shadow ward was simply suppressing its light.

"He is merely sleeping at this point," Clark softly replied. "There may not be much I can do for him, but I have been attempting to fix his... his lines."

"It's magimorphosis, isn't it?" she asked in a whisper. Technology-based changes to a body in the direct aftermath of fully immersing himself in a storm of Technology, Significance, and Dragon mana, while in an enchantment designed to initiate changes on the soul? There was basically nothing else it could be. "I'm not surprised you can't remove them, the lines on the body are just symptoms."

"Yes, magimorphous! That was the word I was looking for, and... not as of now," Clark got momentarily loud, then sheepishly quieted down. "I can [Unblemish] them away for a few moments, but they merely return with the next pulse."

Henrietta raised an eyebrow in surprise. Though she suddenly realized being quiet probably wasn't necessary, she still kept her voice low. "I'm amazed it can even do that much. It's a change to the soul. That you're able to do anything... well, I'm impressed."

Clark eagerly nodded, "It is a most useful skill."

While objectively, Henrietta still wished that their Healer had thought through things a little bit better when deciding his final Class before the Jump, she had to admit that [Prince of Shining Streams] had proven to be legitimately good at healing. It had its weaknesses, of course, but any class when reset to level 0 and losing all but a single skill would suffer. She wouldn't say that she truly regretted her Class choice, but she'd thought long and hard about whether effectively keeping only her ready access to inklings outweighed keeping all of her alchemy skills. Alchemy could create ink, but the reverse wasn't true.

Well, she wasn't able to change the past. She could only move forward and hope that her choice wouldn't cost them dearly. If she could figure out paper, then her class choice might have been justified.

"Don't worry about them for now," she doubted that Oliver would be happy to awaken to stage three magimorphosis, but that was a subtle and long-term concern. She cared more that he woke up at all. "Can you care for him while he's under?"

"There may not be much I can do?" Clark hesitantly answered, "I normally would simply utilize [Waters of Life] and ⟨Transfusion⟩ when dealing with someone in a coma, but I lost it."

Henrietta nodded thoughtfully, "Alright. We'll leave him be for now, see when he wakes up. Any idea how long he's got until there might be health problems?"

Clark frowned, "He was casting a lot. So he might already be on the way to being dehydrated. If that's the case, just a couple of days. But if we can get him water though, a week or more?"

Henrietta looked over Oliver's prone form. He wasn't in the best of conditions, but the superficial injuries she'd noticed earlier had already been patched together. He was, as best as they could tell, stable, and as such would keep. "Good to hear. I want you to think about ways you can keep him hydrated even while he's asleep, but for now don't worry about the magimorphosis. If we're going to fix it, it will almost certainly require him actively participating."

"Oh. Okay. You don't think he'll like it?"

"I doubt it. For all its benefits, em-morphs wreaks tremendous amounts of havoc on casting. It tends to change up all the ways magic interacts with you, even more than what simply class changing will do. The only question is if we can treat it here, but... still, don't worry."

"What is the priority, then?"

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"Undetermined, for now," she replied as the two of them left the hut.

Obviously, if the System node wasn't working yet, or had broken in the mana surge, that would remain the primary thing Oliver was assigned to. However, if he wasn't, then it would be very important to get him on a new task relatively quickly thereafter.

Now, the primary point of getting the basic System node working was to enable them to assign their levels, such that Oliver could increase his Aura and thereby get his custom System working again. That, in turn, would drastically improve the efficacy of their Artificer, and get them better-equipped to develop the System further, should it be needed.

Henrietta took a seat alongside the rest of her conscious team, loosely circled around the perpetual cookpot, and took some sips of water as she thought. Alyssa and Jacob were casually discussing the nature of the magical accident they'd just encountered, and they were being mostly civil, but...

"Ride," Henrietta tiredly interjected, "Be nice."

"What?" Alyssa seemed almost confused, "What am I doing?"

"Making mistakes is a part of casting. Calling Smith a fumblemancer, even if he isn't around, isn't polite and isn't accurate to begin with."

"Then he shouldn't fumble as much," Alyssa defended herself, "If I can tell that a spell stuttered, it's because it's got to have a big mistake."

"I'd let him defend himself, if he were so inclined. But you still slip and trip and catch yourself when running over rough ground, you just catch yourself before you fall." Henrietta sighed. "If you're just going to be rude, please be rude in a constructive way."

Alyssa mumbled something that sounded like agreement, and Henrietta let the matter rest.

Alyssa Ride was an interesting case. She was, overall, handling the unusual Jump they were on even worse than Oliver, whose entire build was nearly in direct opposition to the wholly uninhabited and completely wild world they'd found themselves landing upon.

Personally, Henrietta suspected it was mostly a matter of feeling useless without her normal tools available. From her understanding, Alyssa had made certain to use the [Ranger of Far Lands] due to a combination of its elements - Force and Wood were both indispensable for wilderness scout-types - and her main movement skill being under its aegis. It wasn't a bad choice in theory, but it left her weaponless and without much in the way of magic stats to compensate. She responded... poorly, to that. But Henrietta did her best to not hold it against her too much, none of them were in top form.

It didn't help that Rangers were in a bit of an odd state as far as Expeditions went. The first generation of Jumps, like hers, had two roles - Bastion and Striker - dedicated to fighting. Bastion had become Warrior, taking most of Striker's important contributions, leaving the Ranger as a secondary combatant and otherwise fairly niche.

If there was ever to be an Expedition which showed the value of a Ranger, it would be this one. And, once Oliver got the leveling System node functional, Alyssa would be able to give herself whatever extra stats she needed to feel better. Be it extra physical Strength, better mana control and Cohesion, or just extra Skill - or subskill - slots to work with. Which was fortunate, because she really didn't need to deliver the morale hit of any kind of actual discipline when it was an issue that would resolve itself soon.

Henrietta herself was itching to get access to more Capacity. The artscapes native to her prior world were versatile and interesting, but not particularly powerful. For her and her Sketchbook, that most sharply made itself aware in how small it was, smaller than it had ever been before. Even when she'd first gotten it, she'd been able to easily fit at least twenty full-detail sketches into it, and the only reason she didn't know for certain because 'filling up' her sketchbook wasn't something she'd even realized was possible at the time.

Yet now, she'd needed to get creative just to fit two inklings for brick-making, her pair of wings and ink-flail, and a single pseudowyvern scout. That was less than six individual constructs... which wouldn't matter, and not a moment too soon.

Overall, gaining the capacity to assign their levels would solidly push them into 'comfortably surviving' territory, enable them to drastically expand their magical capabilities, and provide a massive morale boost. Those were all the reasons she'd prioritized the goal above all others, but now that their initial goal was met... they needed a new goal, and as a leader, it was her job to provide it.

Why couldn't I have gotten an easier Expedition to lead? She silently bemoaned. She hadn't had nearly as much leadership experience as she felt like she needed in this case. In other circumstances, her personal experience with Expeditions would certainly have offset her comparatively lacking people-leading credentials, but she had all but no experience for this situation. She just hoped she wasn't messing everything up too badly.

Alright, Henrietta. Take it from the top then break it down.

'Making a portal' was still too abstract and distant a goal. She needed something which was in sight, something that they could stay motivated while doing. But the further out it could be, the more they could work on parallel portions simultaneously. There were only five of them, and that meant they really couldn't afford to waste manpower.

Although...

Henrietta cast her gaze towards where her inklings were dutifully creating and moving bricks around. She'd given it some thought before, because five people could never fully substitute for the full might of a civilization, and that meant they'd have to do some level of autonomous construction. But, she'd generally been thinking of that in the context of her inklings, offloading as much labor as possible to her constructs. They had their brick-making factory, but that was... tiny, in comparison to what they'd need.

They needed exponentially more manpower than what they had, because there was no chance that the five of them, even multiplied by a thousand, could get anywhere close to what they needed.

⟨Epizeuxis⟩ would help. The ability for her to rapidly duplicate her inklings, creating dozens of individual constructs from the exact same sketch, was something she'd long since relied on, and would be immensely useful here as she tried to increase their manpower. If two brick-making inklings could make a hundred bricks a day, twenty could make a thousand. A dozen pseudowyverns could potentially handle their daily foraging instead of Alyssa and Jacob. Henrietta's personal capabilities would grow exponentially as she leveled her skill and her class.

But that still wasn't enough. It was limited by her, her skill and her time. If they wanted to get home, they would need to create vast supply lines of industry that could operate with no human intervention whatsoever, sources that provided them with all the raw materials they could ever need while they focused on the more human-required aspects of building out magitechnical infrastructure. They needed something which not only ran on its own, but which grew on its own. Something that improved itself over time, which provided them with as much as they could need at any stage of development.

It wasn't possible with their current level of development, but that just meant it would make for a good goal. She didn't know how to get there, but sometimes all you could do was take one step at a time.

Iron made for a good first target. There was almost certainly an abundance of iron somewhere around here, given how red the stone and soil was. And metal was incredibly important to magic, particularly Oliver's style, meaning that if there was ever to be a self-scaling engine of creation, it needed to start on a foundation of metal.

So, what would it require for them to truly automate the production of smelted iron ingots, to the point that its output increased over time?

They'd need a source of iron ore, of course. Alyssa was their best candidate for finding a good source, but she'd need a skill to have a reasonable chance of succeeding. Well, Henrietta had also wanted to get a better understanding of their surroundings, a better idea as to where the Tower Stream and First River came from and went. She'd put Alyssa on a combination of mapping duty and skill-earning, once they had the System node confirmed to be working.

Then, they'd need a way to harvest the iron. That duty would likely fall to her inklings, so she would need a construct capable of harvesting iron ore, and that would likely need subskills for [Refined Calligraphy] to enable. In order to develop subskills for [Refined Calligraphy], Henrietta needed paper, something as close to the Center for Elemental Card as she could manage. Simply using bark or laying reed fibers in a grid pattern wasn't enough, she needed actual paper. She'd had some experiments ongoing in the background, and it was time to revisit them.

Then, they'd need to smelt the iron somehow. Fortunately, they had no shortage of fire at this point, so she could assign Oliver to developing a furnace suitable for smelting iron with his enchantments. That should hopefully be quick enough, and he could do testing with some of the pyrite Alyssa had said she'd seen at Shelter. Pyrite wouldn't make for very good iron, but it would be a solid start.

Then, they'd need to figure out some way to transport the iron around, both inside the iron-making foundry and from the foundry to First Tower, or wherever they ended up making their next base. Jacob and Clark could work on those well enough. She didn't want to use inklings if at all possible, and Jacob had shown a decent degree of mechanical proficiency when she and him had built the waterwheel-powered Crane and Grog-mill, and given how convenient rivers were, odds were quite high that they'd be utilizing boats to transport materials around for quite some time. Their Water-loving healer could probably figure something out there.

Ink and paper, fire and motion. The foundation for a civilization, the fuel for a factory that could grow and change on its own. A factory unlike any other ever created, grander and far greater than any of Humanity's accomplishments, wrought by their hands and forged by their will.

This was a war against the concept of impossibility itself. And Henrietta had no intention of losing.

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