novelraw Chapter 863 - 862 - Pressure
Chapter 863 - 862 - Pressure
Lind felt the weight of it all.
It had been just a connection to dragons at first which was damned odd but could be pushed aside with some concentration but later he began to notice his body was getting lethargic if he did not get real sleep or extensive cultivation sessions.
It was part of why he went to get help as his calculations showed he would have taken close to 3 centuries with periods of sleep growing to months long at a time. It all assumed he did not collapse and die in those moments too.
He also was finding it harder to use his natural Qi and demonic Qi. The Celestial Qi still answered him but it was very limited in its use for him. If not for the dragons, he realized he could never have even finished construction of the Hacore.
He sat in the command chair and smirked at the thought of George giving him the stink eye after how much he said how starships were just impossible to create, yet now he sat in the closest equivalence a cultivator could create.
Ironically, the mobile suit he piloted so long ago gave him a lot of inspiration of what he could do with weaving, Forging, and refining.
Without that, a lot more experimenting would have been needed to narrow down what could work or connect one artifact to the next.
"All systems are showing excellent response, True Lord." Lind sighed as only Hope even called him by his name anymore. The hybrids, despite not being in fear of him, refused to call him anything but his title.
It was getting damned old.
"Wen?" He looked to his right to find her sitting at a station built mostly to regulate orders to the crew while also taking in the exterior inputs from the hull wards he had engraved into it.
It was one of the more annoying obstacles in creating the Wings of Freedom. The complex artifacts had a hard limit of how much information could be connected and fed into a single panel.
Compared to a Nautilus Class that could have full controls from any panel he liked to install.
The Wings of Freedom had a navigation panel, at least 3 power control panels just in the Hacore level and 2 more at the bottom of the neck and at the top as well as 2 more on the bridge.
It required so many just in case any of them failed and they had to take over the various controls or evaluations of its condition quickly.
The communication panel Wen used also had a back up on the bridge with several on each deck.
Unlike a technological vessel, artifacts could not be so easily adapted to the same effects but Lind had done the best he could.
He had also had to rush as time kept pressing on him.
He glanced at the 2 panels on either side of his chair arm rests. They were not as complex and mostly a quick glance to show him how things were doing.
He could not control anything but he could order Wen or others to respond to check on each system.
The ship had a total of 10 decks despite having the size to hold twice as many. There were essentially 6 decks in the power section while the living section had 4 decks.
The back end of the ship had an emergency thrust but it had limited uses and would chew up power like crazy to the point the harmonic crystals would shatter.
None of the dragons understood it but basically he wanted a last resort ability to outrun even a Shard Tier at full strength.
The living section could separate and safely float down for a week solid before it ran out of internal Qi. Cultivators could infuse it to last longer but the maximum time would only be 3 weeks at best.
They would all be exhausted and in desperate need of pills or elixirs by that point but they would be alive.
He had done all he could, what was left was the next step.
"All crew are aboard. Do you have any instructions for the remainder on the dry dock?" Lind smirked at his thoughts at that moment.
"The spheres should be of assistance to them by now. The rotation schedule should be clearly posted in the central pillar. They are free to train and cultivate as they wish or return to the surface." Wen was surprised but nodded at his orders.
"We are ready to fly, True Lord." Lind looked at the man sitting at the helm controls and smiled. He was Veran and had not yet risen to the point of serving the Clans before he came up to help with the construction.
"Wen, have them push the Hacore to 90%" She relayed the orders. As he had expected, the dragons respected her and obeyed easily. He could force them but he saw the respect in their eyes for her.
The left panel confirmed a 90% output to him and a thrum filled the air as the ship seemed to strain against its position.
"Veran, go 5% forward." The man nodded and then smirked as he used a panel with a slider that was locked in place until any Qi was infused into it.
He noted the trouble Veran had even being at the Moon Tier to get it to move but it was moving.
He frowned as he was pressed into his chair more than he should be. The concept of manipulating gravity was old hat to him but it seemed the inertial alignment was not quite working right.
"Jeryl, check the Qi flow to the gravity field." The female dragon was on his left and quickly moved to a panel in the forward section. She frowned as the jade screen showed an interruption.
"Only half the field power is working for us but the lower half is responding correctly. I will compensate." He stretched his senses and could see some stress but it was within tolerance.
It was the entire concept next to speed. The Wings of Freedom was built to withstand possible failures for a short time.
The feeling of motion suddenly lifted entirely and the panels all showed green.
"The helm is sluggish but responding within expectation." Veran spoke up and he monitored the response as they finally exited the atmosphere barrier he had erected.
The instant they were fully exposed to the actual conditions of the upper atmosphere, the groan was heard inside the bridge but Jeryl was moving back and forth on the panels until it faded.
After that, the flight was a simple circle of the dry dock. He was able to observe it only through a compiled projection on the forward section of the bridge.
It was a classic design choice but unlike in the stories George told him, it was not very detailed.
It was a limit of information that could be sent. Unlike the skyships that could allow a cultivator to see outside in all directions, the Wings of Freedom relied heavily on various inputs across its hull.
The readings were accurate but people liked to see things. It still was not as good as their eyes but it helped.
Still, as far up as they were, no obstructions made it fairly easy.
"Report the responses." He saw the gauges but he wanted to be sure they were accurate.
"Gravity weavings are responding but need adjustment. Power flow seems to be fine with no large spikes." He was glad of that last part more than anything. The Hacore was the most tricky thing he had ever built.
The current version was about the 5th iteration just to make it small enough to fit inside the hull design he came up with.
The support systems had been a nightmare to design let alone build but it was all working!
"The helm remains sluggish but I am adjusting it as best as possible." Veran was clearly struggling a bit but Lind knew it might be an issue. The controls were one of the more complex artifact relay systems and it made the entire Nautilus layout look like a simple circle.
"Let me–" Lind went to stand up but the room tilted in his vision. His body felt like it was full of lead.
It had been so sudden that only when he was looking at the dome of light crystals at the center of the ceiling.
"Big Brother?" Hope was leaning over him with concern. None of the others could stop running the ship so only she could check on him. He would have to fix that too.
"How long?" She frowned at his question.
"Wrong question! You have been carrying too much. Sleep now!" He smirked at her pouting face but was in no position to refute her order.
"True Lord, we can run the tests. The calibration of the controls can also be taken care of by us." Wen spoke from her terminal and he could only nod as his body was not cooperating.
A slight tap at his forehead was his last warning so he closed his eyes and let his body sleep. Time was running out and then needed to get going but first, sleep!