Chapter 141
Stage IX (Part II)
Monday
Alexa made her way, rowing forward through the icy waters. Though a quick check of the temperature showed that the water itself was not cold, but rather the feeling that it seemed to emit was cold. Such an occurrence would have been too odd for Alexa to not stop and ponder a few months ago, when she truly began to awaken. Now, however, she felt that her mind and body could move independently of one another. She could still move, while simultaneously contemplating deeply on the mysteries of why water would be warm temperature wise, but illicit bone chilling natural responses from her. Thinking about the response naturally, it felt like she was there, experiencing something different, something deeper within her that was capable of handling or being made aware of external threats. For a moment she wondered if it had anything to do with the soul, or maybe some deeper aspect of survival that she was just now beginning to be able to tap into. Regardless of the reason as to why she could now feel the looming darkness that awaited them just under the surface of the ocean, Alexa found that the most important part of her was that she was slowly becoming aware that this function, this highly tuned and sensitive survival instinct existed at all.
The fact that Alexa could do these two things simultaneously, both move her self-created craft forward and contemplate the different stimuli that her enhanced body was now able to process was impressive in its own right. What made the matter even more impressive was the fact that she was able to do this all while channeling magical energies out in a three hundred and sixty degree sphere around her that allowed her to detect new and hidden life around her.
With her powers, she could feel the way a school of magically attuned fish followed her, as they all seemed to thrive from feeding off of the ambient energy she was slowly but steadily releasing into the water around her. She felt the way that plankton and magic-synthetic algae also came to life and began to pulse gradually on the surface of the water. To her eyes and Magical Sight afforded to her by her class she saw the way the algae came to life and looked to be floating pools of magical oil that stained the surface of the ocean, causing the vibrant mana soaked blue of the ocean to change colors as different forms of mana were processed by the algae.
In her mind, Alexa saw the algae and understood that it was important, but not how it was important. She had been in this particular dungeon long enough now to realize that everything was here for a purpose, and that the algae especially were here as part of that purpose. She also felt she had a decent view on what exactly this dungeon was here to teach her, namely the purpose for this dungeon seemed to hinge entirely on how to break down foreign tainted energy that appears in an area, and how to create an ecosystem that will clean up any impurities noted.
Unfortunately, the answer wouldn’t come to her, not directly at least. If her new sense of the universe was telling her anything, it would be along the lines of try harder. Not that Alexa needed encouragement to try harder, as her mind fought to find different things to distract her. Well not distract her, in her mind she was already working on trying to solve this dungeon, trying to find the fastest way that both she and Kelvin could make it out of here safely. That was why her mind worked on interpreting the different signals that were coming in, while constantly pushing her thin line of Life magic out to scan for life, while furiously paddling forward trying to cover as much ground as possible.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t until she took a second to think about all the different tasks she was performing all at once that she realized just how much she was actually doing. Her old self would never have been able to do half of this. When she first learned magic, it took nearly all her concentration just to pull off a spell. Even her recent battle with the dragons in England forced her to mostly stand still, while moving just slightly. Now, however, she felt she could move in precise movements away from danger. Realizing this, she nodded to herself, finally realizing the effects that having her base Attributes Increased so many times by her different titles and ranks finally meant.
This was her favorite part about dungeons, the way she was able to take a step back and learn about herself. The way she was able to be herself without anyone judging or hoping for more than she was capable of. In here the only person who could judge her was herself, well these Trials of Ascension always muddied the waters, as they all but forced external perspectives on her. Still in the end, the only ones that could truly judge her in dungeons were the dungeons. At least, dungeons were the only opinions she would accept as being valid.
Thunderclap.
Up ahead, a giant storm began to form seemingly out of nowhere. A quick glance with her class enhanced eyes showed her that the storm she was now witnessing was magical in origin. Just seeing the storm caused an intense thrill to ignite in her, as she wanted the power of the storm. She wanted to consume the raw energy that was being produced up ahead and to turn it into raw power that she could consume and use to thrive.
Even up ahead, she noticed that pools of the algae on the ocean began to come to life, glowing in their own peculiar way to the new energy that was being produced around it. This time rather than having a bright green color, that they seemed to glow for her use of Life magic, she saw these new puddles absorbing and refracting the energy gained as light blue, just different enough from the deep dark blue of the ocean to make it stand out as wholly unique. Seeing this second example of the algae hard at work caused something to click in her mind.
The more Alexa watched the pulsing algae, the more she felt a sort of bond, or connection to the algae. It almost felt that on some deeper level she could connect to the algae in a way she never could to other living creatures. Then she called up her initial class description, as something seemed to be off. Or rather, her newly identified instinct was telling her that there was something she was missing. So, she pulled up her class description and read the information.
Class: Absorber: For every apex predator, there exists a bacterium who can take them down like they were nothing. With this class you can be the bacteria this world so desperately needs. Your primary power will be to absorb the power and energy from your opponent, whittling them down until you finally exert your dominance and eradicate their life from all eternity. Primary Attribute: Willpower. Secondary Attribute: Perception.
That was it, the moment her hunch became a solid understanding. She suddenly realized why the algae felt so familiar, why their actions caused her to pause. She was the algae, at least that is what she was feeling she needed to gain from this little exchange. Her slotted-class of Absorber made her a part of the ecosystem, an invaluable part of the environment that could break down energies into a more useable form for the environment around her, and for dungeons should she use her power within dungeons.
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Suddenly the rapid growth and evolution of Bottomless Gorge made so much more sense to her. Alexa had known that the dungeon was evolving rapidly due in no small part to her, but she didn’t quite understand why.
At first she took the class description to be somewhat offensive, and paid it no real attention, other than it was a good description of what she was now capable of. But now that she had time to familiarize herself with her class and had now taken a moment to re-read her class description, she saw it. The true meaning of the words. She was the bacterium that the world needed. Thinking back on it, she realized that scientists were finding new ways to use bacteria in the world around them. From the use of plastic eating bacteria to clean up waterways, to breaking down composts and other materials that are hazardous for the environment, bacteria did have an important role in the world. No one liked to talk about the impact that bacteria had on the environment, but the impact was still there, ready to be seen by anyone willing to take a moment and observe the world around them.
That was why this revelation suddenly made more sense to her. She also realized that the algae here were acting like the plastic devouring bacterium of her home planet. The algae were eating the raw energy of different spells being cast around her and consuming as much as they could, and then what they couldn’t use was excreted back into the ocean waters as mana, thus why the water was now super saturated with mana. Not only were the algae hard at work breaking down the magic of those that came here from the Orc and Elven camps, but there were other nets that had evolved enough to fully breakdown the deep water threats of the demonic energies being released below the surface of the water.
Seeing the algae, she had a new respect for not just the algae, but also her class. Alexa realized that with her class, she too could eventually get to the point where she could help not only her own planet, but other planets that had been corrupted slowly revert back to a normal state. Her class made it so she could take on corruption. Looking back at her encounters it was apparent that most people would have died if they had been subjected to the same toxic levels of Necromancy and Death magic that she had been exposed to multiple times throughout her life. Yes, she did have different powers that helped her break down the impact of most magic, particularly her Magic Disruption psychic power, but never before had she seen the direct impact her class had on the environment. Or rather she had never seen the way a class similar to hers could have an impact on the environment. While they were slightly different, Alexa couldn’t help but feel a slight kindred spirit with the magic devouring algae.
As she paddled forward, she decided to use the moment to speak to the dungeon, to make sure she understood the true purpose of the dungeon.
“Dungeon. It’s the algae, isn’t it? This algae is special, as it can break down the different energies of the world and filter them in a way that is beneficial for the environment. Even being able to take Chaos energies and remove them from the environment as well?” Alexa asked in the Precursor tongue.
Happy flash.
With that, the dungeon flashed happily in recognition of Alexa’s ability to grasp the complex layers of information being presented to her.
System Notification: Trial of Ascension Stage IX Completion: You have identified the true purpose for completing this stage of the Trials of Ascension. Please take this reward as is your due.
With that a giant glowing augmentation crystal arose from the depths of the ocean and all but threw itself at Alexa. With a trembling hand, Alexa grabbed the crystal. In a moment, her hands began to twitch, as she desperately fought not to use the crystal here, not at this very moment as there was still something she desperately needed to accomplish. Knowing that if she consumed the crystal now, she would be all but forced to immediately leave the dungeon.
“Dungeon, I thank you for this, but I still cannot leave. As I said before, I am here for a friend. I believe they are by the real entrance of this place. I know it is dangerous, but is there anyway you could help me find him?” Alexa asked, her junky hand still trembled while holding the sheer weight of the power contained in the crystal she had just received. It was clear from just holding such an item that this dungeon was both ancient and powerful, able to weave complex powers into a stone that still was the largest crystal she had ever received as a dungeon quest reward.
Flash.
There was another flash, as Alexa felt a foreign entity try to access her mind. For a moment she resisted, but only until she realized it was the dungeon trying to directly connect to her. Pausing for a moment, she realized that this showed a high sense of trust, both on her part for allowing the dungeon to access her mind that deeply, but also it showed a lot of trust from the point of view of the dungeon as she realized it was equally as intimate of an experience for the dungeon as it would be for her. Realizing that, she took a deep breath, and used her newly identified sense to see if there was any inherent danger with this action. Focusing inwardly, despite what logic might tell her that this was a bad idea, her emotional mind could tell that there was nothing to be afraid of. Given that her emotional mind was now fully in control of her body and actions, Alexa lowered her mental defenses and allowed the dungeon into her mind.
Electrical jolt.
There was the faint surge of electricity in Alexa’s mind, as her thoughts were suddenly flooded by complex images and senses. Dungeons it would appear understood and interacted with the worlds on an entirely different level than humans, or even other humanoid creatures. As Alexa began understanding the impact of Magic, magical theorems, and how dungeons were effectively magical unicorns made solid, as dungeons were innately aware of all schools of magic, and were thus able to provide guidance to others through said magical insights. It was an altogether unfamiliar sensation for her, then finally it was over.
And just like that, Alexa realized that there was far more given to her than she could expect to understand in one life time, but two things were abundantly clear from that brief exchange. The first was that the dungeons valued all life, and especially hers for whatever reason. The second thing she learned was the way forward.
Nodding to herself, Alexa took the advice of the dungeon. The first thing she did was consume the giant crystal within her hands.
Flood.
The minute she did, a deluge of complex ideas and formulas went on in her mind.
Creation Magic Tier Increased to Tier IX. Light Magic Tier Increased to Tier V. Earth Magic Increased to Tier VI. New Skill Unlocked: Biome Balancing (Tier VII): 932%.
In her mind, she could now see and create the different creatures needed to fix a water biome like this one from any damage sustained from foreign sources of magic. Each school of magic she had increased by two Tier levels, leaving her Creation magic just one step away from being maxed out. Included in the crystal was a full understanding of Life magic, which she had already mastered thanks to her class’s ability to steal the power from other life forms. Now it seemed that there was an alternate way for her to learn magic as well, by completing Tier VII dungeons. While it was clear that being in higher level dungeons was preferable, she had never quite understood just how much more preferable delving into such higher level dungeons could be, until now.
Taking the crystal, Alexa’s mind whirred and spun to life with new ideas and concepts. Then just as expected, the exit door appeared right before her eyes. Seeing the exit, Alexa nodded in understanding. While many of the thoughts shared with her by the dungeon were foreign and alien in nature, there was one thing she fully understood, and that was what the dungeon intended for her to do next.
Going forward, she focused her will and with a single word projected her will and intent on what would happen next. With one word, she would alter her future course of events, and hopefully gain more knowledge, while also rescuing a valuable ally.
“Stay.”
And with that the portal that had clearly displayed an image of a tropical forest suddenly changed to reveal a beach that overlooked an ever-flowing ocean. Nodding to herself, Alexa paddled her self-made canoe forward through the portal, and started the scenario over. This time, she started with the promise that she would start at the regular starting location, which would hopefully place her closer to her ally.