(Zayne's POV)
When I said I was building a base, I didn't expect to terraform a pocket planet.
But here we are.
I stood in the middle of what used to be a thick, mist-covered clearing. Now? It was something else entirely. An entire landscape the size of a planet—yes, a planet—lay around me. Floating islands hovered lazily in the skies. Lakes shimmered in soft colors. Stone arches framed areas like natural gateways, and hovering terrain plates slowly rotated in zero-gravity zones like someone copy-pasted fantasy art from Pinterest and said "make it real."
The kicker? You couldn't even tell from the outside. Thanks to the Absolute Shield Dome [EX] and the Terrain Customization Card, this place was cloaked tighter than Area 51's basement.
I muttered under my breath, half-exasperated, half-impressed.
"…I wanted to build a base. Now I'm making a damn realm."
That thought sent a small chuckle out of me. Honestly, it wasn't even a complaint.
I always dreamed of stuff like this. Floating islands. Hidden realms. Fantasy and sci-fi blended like hot coffee with caramel. And now? I had the tools to make it real.
I snapped my fingers and called out to the Grid.
"Bring up the blueprint for the Universal Habitat Core."
[Affirmative.]
A blue hologram emerged before me. Slowly, a 3D model of the core began to rotate midair. It looked like a glowing, transparent orb the size of a five-story building, layered with concentric rings and crystalline conduits. At the very center was a pulsating core — probably the main power matrix.
The schematics were dense. Not just in size, but in concept.
The Habitat Core wasn't just about air and temperature regulation. That'd be too basic.
No. This thing was designed to balance every major form of cosmic energy in the multiverse: Mana, Ki, Aether, Spirit, Divine Energy, Primordial Force, Neutral Etherium, Elemental Threads — even Void Suppression Zones were accounted for.
It was essentially the heart of a self-sustaining, reality-adaptive realm.
I scrolled through the material requirements. Fortunately, everything was already provided in the system storage.
Each component was ridiculous in its own right.
— Aetherium Crystal Lattice x12: This served as the primary energy conduit, harmonizing flow between different types of energies without destabilizing the surrounding environment.
— Trionium Spine Rods x8: Used to stabilize gravitational pulls inside the core and anchor it in dimensional space. Without it, the core could literally float into another universe.
— Vanta-Plasma Tubing x45 meters: Extremely rare. Allows the redirection of destructive energies into passive heat dispersal. Basically… it stops the core from nuking itself.
— Celestial Amber Clusters x3: Can store and regulate divine energy like a spiritual capacitor. Shaped like liquid gold and fragile as hell.
— Oblivion Tempered Alloy: Used for the outer casing. Can survive a direct hit from a star collapsing and still be shiny.
My lips curved into a crooked grin.
"Yeah... this isn't a core. It's a damn miracle engine."
But even with my brain, I wasn't stupid enough to try and build this alone. I needed help. Not just tools — real processing power.
And I had just the assistant for the job.
I brought out the capsule from my inventory and tossed it onto the flat construction slab I had created earlier.
Fssshhh!
A puff of steam. Then a sleek, humanoid machine unfolded itself with elegance. Its body was entirely matte white, with sleek contour lines. No visible face, just a semi-gloss visor. Slim, agile, slightly shorter than me — definitely more "android assistant" than "battle bot."
Alpha 5. But upgraded.
Or maybe I should say — Alpha 5.0.
"Activate," I said.
The moment the word left my lips, a soft humming sound filled the air. Its visor lit up in blue light.
"Activation complete," it said in a calm, almost feminine voice. "Awaiting command input."
I blinked.
Wait… feminine voice?
I checked the model name that flashed briefly across my retinas.
[ALPHA-5 | Model: A5W-F | Version: Femme Edition]
"...Oh."
The Grid wasn't kidding when it said I had the variant package.
"You're… not what I expected," I muttered, mildly amused.
"I am exactly what you require," she replied dryly.
Oof. Snark mode already active.
I tapped my forehead and brought back the blueprint again.
"Alright, Alpha. We're building the Universal Habitat Core. Blueprint's active. You see it?"
Her visor blinked.
"Visual acquired. Materials confirmed. This is a Tier-6 multiversal construct. Standard estimation of solo construction: 370 Earth years. Shall we optimize?"
"Yeah. Definitely optimizing."
I scrolled through the blueprint again and brought up another item in my inventory.
"Grid, activate AI Blueprint: Kara."
[Initializing AI Construct…]
Alpha stepped forward and placed her palm against the floating blueprint. A soft wave of light spread through the space, like data being transferred through light pulses.
A moment later, a new voice joined the conversation — gentle, calm, and slightly maternal.
"Hello, Alpha. Hello, Master Zayne."
A small orb of white and gold light hovered in the air, slowly condensing into the shape of a digital interface. Kara had no physical body, but her presence was comforting — like someone who'd spent centuries watching stars drift through space.
"I've loaded the full construction sequence. Shall we begin the sequence in stages?"
"Yes. Let's start with the Foundation Matrix. Alpha — handle materials analysis. Kara, calculate the ideal location to anchor the core within the terrain's energy lines."
"Affirmative."
Alpha began scanning the terrain with high-speed pulses, mapping gravitational fields and energy convergences. Kara floated to the center of the cleared area and pulsed with radiant lines of gold.
"There is a leyline convergence point 27 meters below current elevation," Kara stated. "Ideal location for anchoring the core's gravitational lattice and etheric harmonizer."
I nodded.
"Perfect. Begin excavation and build the magnetic base ring. Use Oblivion Tempered Alloy first — I don't want this thing going anywhere even if the sky falls."
Alpha turned to me, motionless for a second before replying, "Understood. Deploying Zero-G Nano Drones."
Tiny, glowing drones burst from her arms like fireflies — silent, blue, and efficient. They swarmed the area and began carving through the ground with precision lasers.
As they worked, I walked over to the resource crates and picked up a chunk of Aetherium Crystal Lattice.
It was warm.
Not hot. Warm. Like it was alive.
"I still can't believe this is real," I muttered, tossing it gently between my hands. "Aetherium Crystal. This stuff is used in dimensional star-drives and world-sculpting engines. And I've got a whole crate."
Kara chimed in.
"Aetherium's internal structure allows it to refract multi-spectrum energies simultaneously. It is the only known material capable of balancing divine, void, and mana currents without causing energy polarity disruption."
"In English?" I said with a small smirk.
Alpha stepped in.
"It's the only reason you won't explode the base when Spirit and Void energies touch."
"Ah. Yeah. That sounds important."
The construction continued rapidly.
The excavation pit was completed in under ten minutes.
Next came the Trionium Spine Rods. I helped manually anchor them myself — eight rods forming a perfect octagonal base. Each one hummed with gravitational resonance as soon as it touched the ground.
Kara floated near the edge of the pit.
"Begin sealing with Vanta-Plasma Tubing. Attach them to the inner core framework. Alpha will link the flow regulators."
"On it."
I pulled out the coiled tubing. It shimmered like liquid obsidian, almost smoke-like in appearance. We ran them through the channels of the framework, while Alpha adjusted the flow ports.
Each port clicked softly — a sign of perfect connection.
Kara continued humming faintly.
"Zayne. Do you understand why the Habitat Core must balance these energies?"
"I've got a rough idea," I said, wiping my brow. "If one energy dominates, it creates instability. A realm like this needs harmony — a place where Spirit users, mages, divine beings, and tech-users can co-exist without frying each other."
"Correct," she replied. "It is also necessary if you wish to expand the base to accommodate future allies. Or refugees."
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"Refugees?"
Alpha nodded this time. "The multiverse is large. Wars are coming. You will need space. Security. Power. And trust."
I stayed silent for a moment.
Because she wasn't wrong.
This place wasn't just my personal fortress.
It was becoming something more.
Maybe even a sanctuary.
I stared at the slowly forming core. It glowed softly, humming with the breath of reality itself.
And I whispered to myself—
"I hope this place can be the greatest defense for the planet and more."
--- ✦ ---
So guys, I imagine a lot of nonsense sometimes. So this place is like an inner world. You know all those cultivation bullshit shenanigans. But it's going to be a high-tech fortress. Also, guys, Zayne would need recruits. Please give your ideas