The amalgamation reached up to a glowing earpiece protruding from one of its five heads and tapped the device with a fleshy finger.

A glowing red microphone icon instantly materialized directly above Syra. She opened her mouth to scream a warning to the rest of the vanguard squad. Absolute silence erased her words entirely, cutting off her spellcasting incantations and severing her audio connection to the group.

Iron-Scale lunged from the shadows to strike the amalgamation on the flank. The boss pivoted to grab a massive plastic jug strapped to its back and unleash a spray of boiling black coffee across the boardroom. The scalding liquid melted the remaining laminate chairs and scorched the carpet fibers.

Iron-Scale channeled his emerald core to generate a miniature cyclone that caught the boiling spray and redirected it straight into the drywall.

Clapping its hands together, the amalgamation forced a canvas projector screen to unroll from the ceiling. A blinding white light shot from the central eye of the boss to illuminate the canvas with a line graph.

The red line on the chart physically detached from the screen and swept across the boardroom at ankle height.

Scrambling up the glass wall, Torix evaded the sweeping laser. The red beam sliced right through the steel filing cabinets and ignited the paper documents stored inside.

Krax drove his fists against the transparent wall trapping him to send spiderweb cracks racing across the reinforced pane.

'I will break this glass and rip those heads off,' Krax thought. He brought both fists back for another strike.

Stomping on a black desk phone resting on the floor, the amalgamation summoned dozens of translucent cubicles across the carpet. Spectral figures in identical gray suits spawned inside each workstation.

The apparitions ripped matching phones off their desks and hurled the plastic receivers at the commanders like explosive projectiles.

Syra threw her hands up to manifest a dome of solid darkness. The incoming plastic phones detonated against her shield in bursts of blue sparks. Darting through the maze of cubicles, Iron-Scale slashed his star-iron daggers through the spectral workers.

His blades dispersed their forms into useless digital static.

Krax shattered the glass barrier with a final punch. He marched straight through the falling shards and grabbed the amalgamation by its suit lapels. He hoisted the colossal entity completely off the floor.

The five heads shrieked a chorus of dial tones in unison. Krax drove his forehead directly into the central face of the boss.

A crunch of bone and plastic silenced the noise instantly.

Krax pulled his forehead away from the shattered plastic and bone of the executive amalgamation. The colossal entity dissolved into a flurry of white pixels. A blaring siren pierced the environment. The laminate flooring rippled and shifted into cascading streams of red code.

The system registry detected the unauthorized memory scrape. The drywall and steel beams fractured into floating crimson digits. The deletion protocol spread aggressively across the room to consume the shattered glass and the remaining desks.

Iron-Scale sheathed his daggers and signaled Syra and Torix to group together. The structural integrity of the floor failed completely. They stood on isolated patches of fading carpet over an endless abyss of digital static.

Up in the orbital sanctuary, Rubedo leaned on the armrests of his console. The game engine actively attempted to erase the entire dimensional pocket to prevent a paradox. The simulated architecture held immense value.

Rubedo refused to let the server purge the technological advancements buried within the simulation.

Rubedo tapped a sequence of keys on his terminal. He looked down at Glitch resting near his boots. Rubedo pointed at a newly formed spatial rift.

"Go eat."

Glitch bounded onto the console and dove straight into the swirling portal. The anomaly plummeted from the dissolving ceiling of the office building. Glitch landed on a crumbling concrete pillar and opened its jaws to impossible proportions.

An anti-mana vacuum flared to life across the collapsing floor. The swirling vortex of void energy dragged the disintegrating architecture directly into Glitch's throat. Glitch swallowed entire sections of the parking garage located below the office.

Sedans, shattered pavement, and sparking electrical wiring spiraled upward into the open mouth. The red code of the deletion protocol funneled straight into Glitch's digestive void.

Krax watched Glitch consume tons of steel and concrete while Torix scrambled onto Krax's shoulder to evade a dissolving tile.

The entire simulated world vanished into the jaws of the anomaly. Rubedo engaged the extraction protocol from his terminal. A beam of violet light surrounded Krax, Syra, Iron-Scale, and Torix. The energy ripped them back to the physical plane.

Glitch bounded through the spatial rift exactly as the final layer of the executive dimension unraveled into white static. The anomaly landed squarely on the sanctuary floor and let out an eager chirp.

It hopped onto the console to arch its back and cough violently. A stream of compressed blue data spilled from its jaws to pool across the smooth glass surface.

The information expanded instantly to project a sprawling holographic interface across the room. Rubedo stood from his throne and approached the floating schematics. He swiped his fingers through the glowing diagrams to review the sheer volume of the harvest. The digested memory fragments translated perfectly into actionable upgrades for his empire.

[ SYSTEM HARVEST COMPLETE ]

[ TRANSLATING MEMORY FRAGMENTS TO ACTIONABLE SCHEMATICS ]

[ ARCHIVE UPDATED: NEW TECHNOLOGICAL BLUEPRINTS ACQUIRED ]

[ BLUEPRINT: INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE ]

Description: A high-output powertrain retrofitted to run entirely on compressed alchemical bio-gas. Replaces manual and beast-drawn labor for industrial hauling.

[ BLUEPRINT: RIFLED BALLISTICS & FIREARMS ]

Description: Machined steel barrels featuring internal spiraling grooves for maximum projectile accuracy. Upgrades standard bolt-throwers to use explosive-propelled munitions.

[ BLUEPRINT: LOCALIZED ELECTRICAL GRID ]

Description: A network of copper wiring and conductive nodes designed to capture and distribute kinetic-generated power across urban sectors.

[ BLUEPRINT: COPPER-WIRE RADIO COMMUNICATION ]

Description: Short-wave transceiver stations enabling instantaneous vocal coordination between outposts. Bypasses the need for magical telepathy or beast couriers.

[ BLUEPRINT: REINFORCED CONCRETE ARCHITECTURE ]

Description: An amalgamation of crushed stone, slag, and iron rebar framing. Creates impenetrable defensive walls and multistory industrial housing.

[ BLUEPRINT: MECHANIZED TRANSPORT VEHICLES ]

Description: Industrial-grade, bio-gas fueled trucks equipped with reinforced suspension and star-iron plating. Drastically reduces supply line transit times.

[ BLUEPRINT: AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY CONVEYORS ]

Description: Motorized belts and sorting tracks meant to optimize factory output. Eliminates the need for manual transport within the foundries.

[ BLUEPRINT: INDUSTRIAL WATER PURIFICATION & PLUMBING ]

Description: High-capacity pumping stations and ceramic piping. Filters toxic runoff and distributes clean water directly to residential zones.

There were many more blueprints on the list, which Rubedo didn't bother reading. Even the first few he read were enough to boost the civilization to the next level.