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Chapter 397: The network

"Yes, but we failed to find anything when we tried to inspect them. Even uprooting them and bringing them back had failed." Kohaku said, curious why they had failed to find anything.

Even if Mana Examination and Mana Inspection were not perfect, under their studies they should have found something if there was anything. Heck, they had even taken part of the plants and tested how they could function as parts of weapons, yet nothing strange had appeared.

Eldrian thought the same, coming to a simple conclusion. \'The network must adapt if they try to destroy the trees or uproot them. If it isn\'t instant such as with Thora, then they can recover. Heck, it had taken just a few seconds for it to recover.\'

"I think I know what is going on." Turning to Thesolis Eldrian asked, "Is it possible for an array to modify itself if it is damage. So as to stay functional?"

"No, I have never heard of a thing like that. However..." Pondering on this topic for a moment, Thesolis eyes flashed with inspiration, "It might be possible to make a formation capable of accepting a loss. It wouldn\'t be that hard in fact, the coding of the-"

"Alright alright don\'t-"

"No, please do continue." Eldrian interrupted Sodren who had interrupted Thesolis. Causing the man to turn red in anger.

"Well, the manner in which you let the formation work will have to be very precise. You will also need to know which arrays you expect to lose. But if you do, it should be possible to have it stay active even if it happens."

"But it won\'t be able to repair the broken arrays?"

"No, how would that be possible?"

\'Well, the network is alive-\' Eldrian thought and changed his words to better reflect the situation, \'The network is undead, which is the same as being alive. It can react, but if this is just instinct or if it is conscious is the question.\'

Eldrian came to this conclusion based on the plants, it was already known that even normal plants can react to their environment. Magical plants should certainly be able to do even more than that.

Sharing this with those in the tent, he left everyone stunned.

"So, well... I am more comfortable with spell modules so just follow along with that." Eldrian started off with, spell modules and arrays were basically the same. For the life of him, he could not remember what names they had chosen for the pathways and nodes and he was not going to let that make explaining things harder.

"The trees act as nodes for the array. However, nodes aren\'t as simple as just being a static point for mana to enter or exit. Especially, in this case, it is also a gathering point for mana and the connection between the trees acts as a sort of detection. On top of that, it also means the nodes are alive."

"This is likely why you were always spotted when trying to sneak into the forest."

"Wha-"

"How is that-"

"Seriously?"

Disbelief was in everyone\'s voices, yet Kydone seemed to have either realized this already or something had told her that there was something like that.

She didn\'t try so hard to not go into the corruption just because it was dangerous and because it was extremely uncomfortable. Her instincts were also screaming at her. Telling her that what she normally relied on would fail her.

"Naturally, trees aren\'t static. They grow, they age, they wilt and die. Which means the array can\'t be static. So it must grow, it must age. Yet it is also an undead creation, a thing filled with the elements of death. Thus, it does not necessarily need to wilt and die."

"What are you getting at?" The king asked, failing to understand what Eldrian was trying to tell them. The analogy which Eldrian thought was perfect only confused the natives.

Except for Thesolis, naturally. And also the old king who was following along and admiring how the elf was working through things. He clearly didn\'t have all the answers and was also still trying to figure it out himself on the spot.

Thesolis replied before Eldrian could, to those in the tent\'s admiration.? "He is getting at the fact that this array is possible of adapting and repairing itself. Clearly, he doesn\'t know to what degree, but not only can it detect us as some special arrays can. It can also find new trees, or nodes as he put it, and expand further without the need of someone making new arrays."

Shivers covered those in the tent, naturally, they had always known that the corruption was spreading. However, hearing how was a shock. It was an advancement in magic, specifically formations and arrays that they have never even conceived before today.

"Then how do we stop this? Removing the trees had done nothing." Kohaku asked, and the answer was so simple it was almost beyond what they could accept.

"Removing likely took some time, same with normal methods of destroying trees. Since the trees are technically undead, use magic aimed at undead on it. I used Thora and a tree turned to ash immediately. I can also confirm that the corruption around it had disappeared for a few seconds. However, the network had managed to recover in those few seconds."

"This is amazing news!" Kohaku shouted in joy, her fur spreading across her cheeks to her nose. Making her appear cuter than before. She also found it strange that no one else was celebrating.

"This is indeed good news, however..." The king paused and sighed, "This will likely only work at the outer edges of the corruption. The source is still unknown and so too is the danger it presents."

Eldrian shrugged, not bothered by this lackluster reply. "Sure, but if you remove all the Ackley trees between the wall and corruption you can stop it from spreading more. You can also slowly push it back."

"Besides, that is why I want a divine spell module and someone to teach me. It is also why I need to accompany you as we head deeper."

Nodding, the king turned to Sodren and asked him to go to the fort to bring a teacher for Eldrian. While the demi-human was unwilling, he had to accept that while the elf lacked etiquette, his talent seemed to be the real deal.

"Let\'s confirm that this does indeed work." Turning to the others the king was about to send out commands, only for Eldrian to stop him mid-sentence.

"Sorry, but there is one more thing you should know. When I destroyed the Spirited Ackley, the surrounding mana turned into a massive storm. This might affect the magic people might be using, especially spells."

"Noted, thank you. Kohaku, please." Indicating to the kitsune, she quickly took Eldrian out of the tent as everyone started discussing tactics.

Eldrian didn\'t mind being removed from the discussion, he didn\'t know much about organizing people and even less about fighting as a large group. However, he was curious why the lady was specifically asked to lead him somewhere.

Looking at her and taking in her strange features that somehow worked, Eldrian decided to ask and make sure he was safe.