Chapter 3: Creating an Exit

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Peridot decided to optimize the Warp Pad, but it wasn't an easy task. The technology was far ahead of her time.

She hadn't been a genius even in her previous world; she had average grades and had to work from a young age. But it wasn't like she had a choice in the first place.

There was no shortage of time, for better or worse.

Her hands touched the flat, cold surface once more.

There were many processes involved in making a Warp Pad functional, and this gave her almost unbearable headaches. Peridot couldn't understand all the principles, so she limited her analysis to the basic functions.

The device was divided into three basic functions: propagation, connection, and teleportation.

Propagation was the most energy-intensive process. It required a huge amount of dark substance to be sent out in all directions to find any available points, much like a wave signal.

After the dark substances of the two Warp Pads met, they would need to establish a connection. The dark substance would link the two points in the universe, creating something like a wormhole.

Finally, the gem would be drawn to the other point by the dense dark substance, with its physical body temporarily released. This step was the teleportation process.

This explained why gems seemed temporarily deformed when they teleported and why humans shouldn't be able to use a Warp Pad; only a gem could pass through or interact with the hole without being destroyed in the process.

"Steven is an anomaly, using it with a human body." she thought. Her mind, filled with curiosity, desperately wanted to study Steven's body.

A sinister smile spread across her face at the thought of the data she could collect.

"What must Steven be like inside?" When Peridot noticed the drool falling from her mouth, she snapped back to her senses.

"What am I thinking? I almost dissected Steven in my mind!" Goosebumps spread across her body at the thought.

"Is the gem's body influencing my mind, or am I just a crazy sociopath?" She never thought she had this sinister side.

She calmed her racing heart and redirected her focus to the blue object.

It would have been ideal if the Warp Pad were entirely intact, but that wasn't the case. The connection and propagation were in poor condition; she needed to fix them and, at the same time, find an alternative energy supply.

Peridot decided to fix the Warp Pad first before worrying about anything else.

She began collecting all the crystals scattered around the Warp Pad. The sight of a small green girl gathering crystals apathetically in an abandoned world was like a beautiful and pitiful portrait.

Peridot started infusing energy into the crystal in her hand. She tried to imagine a flat rectangular shape in her mind, and the crystal began to condense into that shape.

It wasn't a perfect rectangle; the borders were deformed and curved, with many irregular parts.

That was the first time she tried to use transmutation, and the results weren't optimistic.

Unlike before, her expression didn't show hope or fear. She knew that she must be calm to get out of this world.

"It's a process. I just need to get better at it." she thought, tightening her hands.

"I have all the time in the world to make it work." With her renewed determination, Peridot started to transmute the crystal again.

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