Doyle returned the list of Paths to the original order. With the feeling of calcification he had gotten from Deep Rules, he wanted to get a feel for the rest based on chronological order. And the answer is that it wasn’t entirely chronological. Though that was certainly an element.
In the end, though, even if one Path might be a nudge more calcified than the one that came before it, overall the difference wasn’t much and none of the big differences were ever switched around. Also, only the ten most recent Paths were free enough of the calcification that Doyle figures he can do something with them.
Not that he got the feeling that this was something as simple as the ten most recent being preserved for him and anything older left free to calcify. Proto-Array Maker simply being the oldest Path that hadn’t calcified too much.
Which brought his attention to some of the oldest Paths. In particular, the archived Path, Axe Sharpener. He is never going to buy it. Even at only five points, it would be a waste.
Well, not a waste. Every path is positive. So Doyle would get something of value from completing the Path. Pure and simple. Where it could be seen as a waste is if everything it gives was equal to one value of benefits, there was likely always going to be paths where five points would return 2 or more value.
Doyle’s honest opinion was that even putting those five points into the Trinity path and not getting anything for those five points, would be worth it. To literally receive nothing is a better deal. Because while nothing would come of those points, it would get him closer to something on that Path. So “Axe Sharpener” was the perfect specimen for the next test, especially since it was quite calcified.
Doyle pressed on the Path like he had Opposed Elemental Animals and got slightly different feedback than when he also did it to Deep Rules. Though it wasn’t like with Heavenly Gatekeeper.
While it did feel calcified, it also felt like a single piece. Though unlike the gatekeeper path, it was a true single piece. Heavenly Gatekeeper instead felt like a well-made brick wall. You can see and feel the bricks are there, but it’s well made, so you aren’t going to be able to pry any of the bricks out without damaging it. Axe Sharpener instead felt like a single brick.
Doyle ignored the fact it can’t split and kept applying pressure, soon reaching the force he had needed to recombine Opposed Elemental Animals. Still nothing, though, so he steadily increases the pressure. Then, as it reaches an entire magnitude more power, once again–
Crack
Except this “crack” wasn’t the same. Doyle wasn’t left with two parts. Doyle was left with No parts.
Though thankfully, this didn’t also leave him with any sort of negative feelings. No “emptiness”, a feeling of something missing, or that something is lost. At the same time, there aren’t any positive feelings either.
All of which he was willing to deal with and to him, had been quite possible. After all, this was dealing with the soul, at least to some extent. Maybe removing an available path left an empty space you could feel? Or what if there was actually a cost to having a lot of available paths and removing one relieved you of that weight?
Instead, Doyle got the feeling of “meh”. That, yes, it happened and the Path was gone. No, he couldn’t ever get that particular path exactly as it was, back. Yes, he could get a similar path, even one named exactly the same. It wouldn’t be the same, but he could.
Though Doyle did read between the lines. Each path available is like a bug in amber. Trapped at the moment it was added to the list and sure, some details might change, but the broad strokes would remain the same.
Which means if you later have different realizations related to that Path, especially if they’re counter or a major change to what you had at the time? The Path would only ever lose value. Well, unless you set out to build layered Paths. Except that is well beyond the scope of this.
The scope here, the important detail, is that Doyle can now release those old Paths and open himself up to new paths in a similar vein. This wasn’t actually that useful, but still a consideration. After all, even if you have the Axe Sharpener Path available, that doesn’t stop you from getting a similar path with a different name, so Strange Axe Sharpener or some such.
The only Paths that are locked behind other Paths are the sequential paths. No getting II of a path if you haven’t completed I. Though equally, you can’t get II even if you don’t have I available if you haven’t completed I, so not really a factor in this.
Doyle was simply trying to find a silver lining besides being able to clean up his Paths even more thoroughly. Which brought up the question: What was he going to dust? There were a few early Paths that seemed nice. Doyle had simply never gotten around to them.
So, how much was Five Cornered Square Initiate worth and if he dusts it, would he ever have a similar option pop up again? Then repeat that question for every other Path.
{
Available: Five Cornered Square Initiate 0/100, Into The Infinite 0/60, Time Will Wait 0/500, Kobold Salvaging 0/40, Proto-Array Maker 0/10, Proto-Formation Maker 0/10, Rune Progenitor 0/100
Archived: Heavenly Gatekeeper 0/1005
}
Doyle wasn’t happy with the resulting list. Sure, he dusted, and no, he didn’t know why “dusted” was what he was calling it, a lot of Paths, including a “Path Destroyer” Path that cost something north of 100k points. Nevertheless, there were more paths left than he wanted.
The problem? Besides Kobold Salvaging, they were all Paths which seemed unique, including the only archived Path! Doyle had honestly planned on dusting every single archived Path, yet could bring himself to dust Heavenly Gatekeeper. It has a feel about it . That of irreplaceable importance.
Then there were words like “Initiate”, “Proto”, and “Progenitor”. All descriptors you get at the start of something. For instance, Doyle has Array patterns. They’re complete. So no way could he ever get a Proto-Array Maker Path again. And definitely not Rune Progenitor. At least with arrays, he could try and make a new array. Runes are already made, he can’t make them again for this world!
Which did leave Into The Infinite and Time Will Wait. They weren’t unique, per se. You can wait for time as often as you want, and entering the infinite was a little more restricted, but still possible. However, he wanted to preserve their original context and not some new insight.
So, really, those two, Kobold Salvaging and Rune Progenitor were the only Paths Doyle had been planning on keeping to start. And the kobold one was more just because he wasn’t sure if gathering stuff in a forest would count as salvaging. That felt more like he would receive a path for foraging instead.
Though it was a bit weird that he hadn’t gotten such a path? With how much random forest detritus the kobolds had brought back from the second portal, it should have triggered?
Well, except now that Doyle thought about it, the situation wasn’t quite the same. For one, there was no quest related to going into the forest and collecting stuff. And another, maybe more important, difference? They weren’t using a cart.
So Doyle turned his attention to his kobold surface team. They were doing... Alright. If they weren’t dungeon monsters, Doyle would almost assume they were slacking off!
Well, to be fair to them, this wasn’t the original team. Doyle couldn’t keep one of the pseudo-souled kobolds away from the fifth floor for too long, so these are just regular kobolds. And after a moment, they were regular kobolds with a cart.
A quick, well, not too quick trip. They filled the cart, after all, but the kobolds didn’t travel out of Doyle’s influence and so they made good time. Whatever, that didn’t get him anything, so he sent them out again, but this time past his influence.
A day later he declared them dead and sent a second group in the opposite direction.
It didn’t take a day, but only a single wounded kobold returned, sans cart. So Doyle sent out a third team in a third direction.
Thank goodness that the third time was the charm. He had been running out of cardinal directions to send them in! And better than the trip being a measured success. Only soured by a missing kobold. Is that he gained a new path.
{
Kobold Foraging 0/40
}
Not the most exciting, and given how Paths worked? Chances were good that he got this specific path because of the expectation. “Foraging” can’t be the only word that this would cover, and maybe not even the best.
Whatever! The Path was what he needed right now. Recombining the two elemental animal Paths wasn’t proof of anything besides being able to combine what had literally just been broken up.
These two? They were similar enough that if it was going to work, it would with them. As well as providing some framework for what to expect going forward. Because his ability to split Paths wasn’t all-powerful.
Both the divine Path and the axe Path proved that. Axe Sharpener should have been able to split. Well, Doyle should have felt the ability to split them underneath the calcification. Both the concept of an axe and sharpening could go in so many directions. Instead, it was a single whole.
There was clearly something going on underneath the clean and simple Paths shown by the system. Which does make sense. Life tends to be chaotic and messy, so something so cut and dry? As if!
But whatever the case may be, Doyle had something in front of him to handle. Pushing the two kobold paths together!
This took more effort than combining the elemental animal Paths. To be expected, so Doyle pushed through. Except, he didn’t manage it in his try. He didn’t manage it in his third! No, it took until try 11 for him to pressure the right points of contact between the two Paths together for them to merge.
{
Kobold Acquisition 0/50
}
That wasn’t quite what Doyle wanted. The overlap was either too much or parts were being lost in this combination. So he snapped them apart and tried again. This time, avoiding the way it had worked.
{
Kobold Looting 0/55
}
‘Hmm. Fewer connections lead to a higher point cost?’ Unsure, he breaks them apart and goes for a third try. Though as he pushes them around, can feel a brittleness. There wouldn’t be a fourth try. Maybe he can still break whatever the result is apart, maybe not.
{
Kobold Scavenging 0/70
}
Doyle nods to himself. It was a perfect outcome. Now at least it fits the more general theme of the two paths that make it up. Acquisition left a different taste in his metaphorical mouth, while looting implied a more active form of gathering. Which was actually what Doyle had been looking for.
He had wanted to combine the two into kobold gathering. Though thinking about it, he likely needs more paths to combine with this one. Others related to scrounging around for stuff.
For the moment, though, the scavenging Path would sit on the bench. Though at least it is on the bench and not still back in the locker room like the divine path.
So, with this little aside taken care of , Doyle could finally focus on completing the 21st floor. It wasn’t quite at the point where it only needed animals. However, the structural changes needed were practically unheard of.