Level 464

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Level 464: "Ferrofactory"
Level 464 is the 465th level of the Backrooms.
== GENERAL DESCRIPTION ==
Level 464 is an expansive yet finite steel mill stretching hundreds of thousands of kilometers in area. Estimates say this level is 3.32 million square kilometers (1.28 million square miles), making it slightly larger than India, a country in Terra of the Frontrooms. The level follows a 20th-century architectural design, featuring many industrial facets such as complex machinery, large piping, aeration systems, storage facilities, etc. The temperature averages around 39.5°C (103.1°F), creating a torrid climate hazardous for most wanderers. The factory has skylights that reveal a sky above. The sky is baby blue; the level's sky fixes to daytime, with no discernible celestial light source.
The level has a hot atmosphere, one that is very similar to Terra in The Frontrooms. The level has a low humidity, ranging from 5% to 12%. Water substances aside from Almond Water usually transform into Liquid Pain before evaporating shortly. In Level 464, mist emanating from Liquid Pain is safe to inhale since it rapidly dissipates into the atmosphere. More elevated parts of the level, such as near the ceiling, are incredibly humid; the humidity ranges from 84% to 89%. This high humidity sometimes generates a faint high-laying fog, which can seldom drizzle. 
Level 464's architectural layout and design are somewhat simple; the patterns may appear complicated initially due to the perplexing machine designs. As one starts to grasp the complexity of the level, the factory becomes easily navigable. Finding high ground assists wanderers in locating any vantage points, including safe areas or potential exits. Wanderers must exercise extreme caution when seeking high ground, as they could suffer third-degree burns if they touch the heated contraptions.
The machines present at Level 464 are industrial-type contrivances made for manufacturing steel. Most of them are in operational condition. They emanate a loud noise, have rapidly moving parts, have a superheated metallic fluid running through them, and wanderers can operate the machines and tinker with them. If a machine is deactivated, the system it is part of deactivates like a kill switch, causing a chain reaction of malfunctions, sometimes even explosions. The machines are built with a regenerative material that reforms itself even after massive damage, sometimes generating new material during a reformation.
Ventilation systems in Level 464 exert chilly, rapid winds spreading in various directions. The cold winds prevent areas in the level from overheating and usually increase in strength when temperatures rise in a specific area. The hot air emanating from the level's machinery clashing with the cold air from the ventilation systems can sometimes create weather patterns in Level 464, sometimes catastrophically.
One may start having panic attacks, anxiety, and hallucinations under certain conditions in Level 464. These conditions include staying too close to a working machine for 3 minutes, prolonged isolation from other wanderers, or breathing the upper fog near the ceiling. These mental anomalies have no detrimental effects on wanderers unless they have lasting mental issues such as schizophrenia. Performing regular breathing exercises is enough to alleviate the mental effects. 
Throughout Level 464, one may find small rooms filled with modern 2010s computer technology. Many computers are unable to boot up or are slightly too critically damaged. If one discovers a perfectly operable computer, one could use it for interlevel communication, running programs such as video games, or even controlling manufacturing systems, safely disabling them. A strange WiFi signal persists within the computer rooms, allowing wanderers to connect with others using their phones.
== ENTITIES ==
Level 464 harbors one hostile level-exclusive entity. 
There are reports of dead Facelings found in the computer rooms. These dead bodies are odorless and show no signs of rotting. There are no confirmed accounts of alive Facelings in Level 464.
== COBBLE ==
Entity Number	195
Entity Name 	Cobble
Habitat 	Cobble is an entity exclusive to Level 464, usually residing in the complex machinery of the level.
Dangerousness	Cobble will eject from their host machine once a wanderer is nearby. They will attack wanderers once they gain consciousness.
Volatility 	The lifespan and initial generation of Cobble depend on various circumstances.
=== DESCRIPTION AND APPEARANCE===
Entity 195, also known as The Cobble or simply Cobble, is an entity residing exclusively in Level 464. Its appearance takes on a large, slithering, scalding, molten steel cable. They usually dwell inside the level's complex machinery. They are aggressive towards wanderers and will attack on sense. When the entity is outside its residence machine, it no longer receives heat, which is essential to its health and is their main lifeblood. A Cobble dies when they solidify to the point where they cannot move, usually 12 minutes without any heat source.
Any photographs taken of the Cobble have downgraded quality issues. They will often have noticeable resolution degradation and, in some rare cases, will be partially corrupted. The entity rarely disappears from photographs taken, but the low-quality image phenomenon will still influence the final image. The cause of this abnormality is unknown; some speculate it is due to a particle emitted from Cobble bodies that affects the camera.
=== BEHAVIOR ===
Cobble will occasionally attack wanderers by violently ejecting themselves from their host machine. Once they eject, they travel at a rapid upward speed, sometimes reaching the level's ceiling. Their ejection trajectory is aimed anywhere depending on several circumstances but anomalously redirects to any biological lifeforms. Once they eject from their host machine, they will lose consciousness from about 45 seconds to a minute. 
After a Cobble gains consciousness, it will rapidly slither and sway its body towards wanderers. If there aren't living biological lifeforms nearby, the entity will remain motionless after it gains consciousness. The entity tends to halt its movement unpredictably for a few seconds between jitters. As the entity's temperature drops, its movement speed decreases, and jittering motions cease after 3 minutes. It is still hazardous to touch the entity until it dies since the heat may still deliver third-degree burns. 
If a Cobble successfully victimizes a wanderer, it will melt through its body and viciously absorb its corpse. When it does, it does not lose heat and retreats to its host machine after 5 minutes of consuming a victim. It will not look for other wanderers if it has already victimized one. The heat gained from the process is sent back into the host machine and the system it is part of, increasing its working speed, efficiency, and noise pollution. The Cobble then spontaneously vanishes, ending its life, for other Cobbles to take its place.
=== BIOLOGY ===
Cobble are composed of a steel-like substance. It cannot switch states of matter, always remaining in a solid state. They have varying lengths and widths, which constitutes their mass and capabilities. There are no remarkable body parts of a Cobble, such as limbs, organs, and sensory systems, only described as a long noodle of molten steel.
=== DO'S AND DON'TS ===
Do:
*Seek refuge in outposts established in safe areas. 
*Pursue higher elevations. 
*Make little noise while traversing Level 464.
Don't:
*Come close to a functioning mechanism. 
*Linger in an area filled with functioning machinery for too long. 
*Traverse Level 464 unprepared and uninformed. 
*Exit the premises of an outposts unadvised.
== COLONIES AND OUTPOSTS ==
M.E.G. Base τ
The Major Explorer Group base Tau (τ) is the only known settlement in Level 464. It has an estimated population of 80. Established in late 2014, M.E.G. personnel use the base for research, guidance for wanderers, and trading. Only M.E.G. personnel are allowed to become a part of the colony. The colony has no permanent population as the M.E.G. switches out staff once every month, with most workers having a 5-month shift. They have no sustainable food or water source, receiving sustenance from weekly outside shipments. Their main goals in Level 464 are to understand more about it and its level-exclusive entity, reverse engineer the level's technology, and create a safe environment for themselves to live in.
== ENTRANCES AND EXITS ==
=== ENTRANCES ===
*Noclipping through the hatch or nearby the hatch in Level 113 leads wanderers here. 
*Entering an industrial-like building on Level 707 leads wanderers here. 
*Staring at a painting depicting an industrial landscape for 30 seconds in Level 914 leads wanderers here. 
*Opening a supply crate in Level 1 containing molten metal might lead one here. 
*Entering an out-of-place black door in Level 221 leads wanderers here.
=== EXITS === 
*Staring at a skylight for 4 minutes leads one to Level 200. 
*Noclipping through a saddle chair in a computer room leads one to Level 4.
*Entering a brown door leads one to Level 998.
Category:Levels
Category:Cluster I
Category:Dangerous
Category:Unconfirmed Levels