Utopian System

Level twelve raised the stakes.

The world Elio now faced was a fascinating evolution of the previous one.

The eleven elements, the original ten plus the newly conquered phosphorus, had established a new and surprising equilibrium.

At the center of this evolved landscape rose the magnesium mountain, its surface shining with an intensity that made phosphorus's luminescence seem dim.

Where both elements met, completely new crystalline formations emerged, magnesium phosphates growing like mineral gardens, their perfect geometric structures defying the apparently chaotic nature of their surroundings.

The atmosphere had acquired surprising stability.

Magnesium acted as an invisible catalyst, dampening the violent fluctuations that previously characterized encounters between elements.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The air currents, previously erratic from hydrogen and helium interactions, now flowed in more predictable patterns, as if the world itself was learning to breathe.

Each time a pure magnesium vein found an oxygen pocket, the sky lit up with flashes that rivaled the sun, blinding Elio.

The exothermic reactions created zones where temperature constantly fluctuated, generating thermal currents that Elio was forced to dodge.

The caverns near the mountain told a different story than those of the previous level. The crystals growing in these caverns were no longer random forms, but organized structures that seemed to follow precise mathematical patterns.

It was a world that had taken another step toward complexity, where each new reaction not only produced light and heat but contributed to the construction of increasingly elaborate structures.

The magnesium mountain rose like a beacon in this evolutionary landscape, its flashes illuminating the path to the next level of elemental mastery.

The fall had heated Elio to enormous heat levels, but this time he had created a resistant dome around himself... which barely held, after he used the cooling power of magical nitrogen...

Just before his defense melted.

In the inner chamber, 128 bearded dragons guarded the element's power.

Their resplendent scales turned each movement into a spectacle of light and power.

But Elio's sword and magic had no problem dealing with them.

♢♢♢♢

The pattern had become clear after that.

Each level followed the same basic structure: climbing an elemental mountain, facing the fall that behaved like the tunnel from the first levels, and finally the chamber where a number of opponents that doubled with each challenge awaited him.

For level thirteen, the aluminum mountain rose like a gigantic mirror.

The world had evolved again.

The twelve existing elements, the original ten plus phosphorus and magnesium, had created a chemical ecosystem of greater complexity.

The aluminum mountain rose with its metallic surface reflecting and amplifying every flash and phosphorescence in the landscape.

Magnesium's light explosions multiplied on its faces, creating cascades of brightness that seemed to bounce infinitely, blinding poor Elio even more.

The luminescence transformed into metallic auroras when reflected on the polished surfaces of nascent aluminum.

The ground had undergone a radical transformation.

Where carbon crystals and iron veins once predominated, now aluminum, combining with oxygen and magnesium, created compounds that extended like primitive clays, forming terraces and structures reminiscent of terrestrial landscapes but with an undeniable alien quality.

The atmosphere, already stabilized by magnesium, acquired new properties. Microscopic aluminum particles floated in the air, creating visible currents that shone like suspended rivers of mercury.

The caverns near the mountain told a new story, now forming complex fractal structures, where each aluminum surface served as a nucleation point for new formations.

It was as if the world was rehearsing increasingly complex forms of molecular organization.

The most impressive aspect was how aluminum transformed existing reactions into completely new spectacles. The quiet phosphorescent veins, upon finding aluminum deposits, created optical illusions that made entire portions of the landscape appear to float in the air.

After finishing the climb…

The fall had heated Elio again but now to thermite heat levels with aluminum's help, so this time the dome didn't resist... It exploded.

The second potion had to be spent.

The battle against 256 metal armadillos had tested not only his strength but his ability to orient himself with closed eyes in a maze of infinite reflections.

It was much easier and less painful to use his ears to decide where to attack.

Although undoubtedly the enhanced perception from the spent metamorphosis potion helped greatly in Elio's ears showing unparalleled performance.

♢♢♢♢

Level fourteen had been the most challenging so far.

The world of thirteen elements had reached a fascinating equilibrium, the original ten plus phosphorus, magnesium, and aluminum creating complex but predictable interaction patterns.

But the potassium mountain that now rose before Elio promised to break that stability with spectacular violence.

The first signs of the chaos to come manifested where hydrogen and oxygen naturally converged to form water. Each drop that touched an exposed potassium surface triggered an explosion that tinted the air intense violet.

Water never ceased to amaze Elio with its aggressiveness.

These reactions created a kind of perpetual chemical storm around the mountain, purple flashes competing with magnesium's brightness and multiplying on aluminum's reflective surfaces.

The landscape had become dangerously dynamic.

The established phosphorescent veins and aluminum's crystalline patterns now served as channels for transporting new potassium compounds.

When these mineral currents encountered moisture pockets, the resulting explosions constantly reconfigured the topography, creating and destroying formations in an endless cycle.

A cycle that Elio was forced to avoid.

In areas where potassium had time to establish itself, more stable compounds formed.

Potassium phosphates created crystalline structures with contained energy, waiting for the slightest disturbance to release their power.

These formations intertwined with aluminum and magnesium minerals, creating grounds vaguely reminiscent of fertile earth, but with a much more volatile nature.

The atmosphere itself had become a spectacle of chemical violence.

Floating aluminum particles now shared space with potassium fragments, creating zones where explosions could trigger at any moment.

Each magnesium flash could initiate a chain reaction that illuminated the sky with a symphony of colors, potassium's characteristic violet mixing with magnesium's white brightness and phosphorus's greenish phosphorescence, all reflected and multiplied by aluminum surfaces.

Mineral transport, previously an ordered process through established veins, had transformed into a chaotic system.

Potassium explosions not only redistributed existing materials but created new transport routes, forcing other elements to adapt to constantly changing flow patterns.

It was a world that had abandoned all pretense of stability in favor of perpetual dynamism.

An aggressively explosive world.