Eternal Dungeon POV
I have a lot of new quests to do. However all of them share a similar throughline of requiring me to be stronger to do them. I’m currently only level 5, nowhere close to the level I need to freely move about on my home continent. My current goal is to reach level 31, which first requires me to even reach level 10.
I could do many things to increase my leveling speed. Such as stop reviving people so that I get all of their experience instead of just a part of it. However I instead would prefer to go for a different option that will allow me to keep my revive mechanic. Increasing the amount of adventurers that can delve me at any one time is one such option.
At the moment the limit is a couple dozen teams which translates to between one and two hundred people. However I could increase this number by adding more floors or making my current floors larger. The problem is that if I start making floors beyond my current level then people will realize I’m not restricted by the dungeon rules. So that’s a no go. I could make my current floors bigger, but nothing past the first floor has even been beaten yet.
This leads to my second option, getting stronger adventurers. Higher level and higher ranks equal more experience for me if and when they die. Right now the only thing stopping both more and better people from coming inside my dungeon is the Adventurers Guild. Which means I’m going to need to do some `negotiating` with them.
The problem with that is that I’m once again limited by dungeon rules. I can’t send a creature outside of my dungeon without breaking a rule and I can’t personally reach out without using a creature as a medium without breaking a rule. Once again, I’m not actually bound by these rules, however people thinking I am is a very powerful card I hold.
So long as people think I’m beholden to the standard dungeon rules then they will underestimate my actual capabilities. It will also make people think that my dungeon core is actually reachable as opposed to being encased in solid dungeon stone.
In the end I only have a few ways to communicate my will with the Guild and none of them can be done directly at the moment. This means I need to use another party to communicate my will. I’m fortunate in that regard as there are several adventurer groups that I could have Aika make contact with who can then make the request to speak with the Guildmaster.
I conjure together a letter for the Guildmaster and place it by the main entrance into my core room.
“Aika, after you deliver the human’s core to one of my experimentation rooms, have this letter delivered to the Guildmaster of the local Adventurers Guild. The letter will be next to the door on your way back out” I inform/order her.
“In what method should I see this letter delivered, Lord Eternal?” My Chosen asks through our bond.
“It is up to you, consider it something of a test to discern the best way to deliver this letter.” I tell her.
I need Aika to develop more social skills as she still has the mindset of a teenager sometimes. It is important to encourage her to grow in all regards both in and out of combat. Plus I’m curious to see how she will go about delivering the letter when she can’t leave the dungeon nor can she have any other dungeon creature leave the dungeon.
“Very well, as you will it my Lord” Aika responds and I feel her focus shift away from our connection and back to her duties.
Good. I’m looking forward to seeing how she will handle the problem. In the meantime with that now delegated I need to continue dealing with the rest of the wrap up from the bandit incursion. The next item on my docket is what to do with the severed dungeon core.
Once severed a dungeon core cannot be reconnected to the Ley Lines without causing damage to the surrounding magical structure. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, however there is a problem with it in this world. As my quest system has told me, and my newly expanded aura has shown me, the Ley Lines and magical frameworks of the world are a little bit fucked.
Part of my job as a True Dungeon is to help fix them up into working order so that the world can continue growing in power instead of just constantly bleeding mana into the Abyss. This means that my options are to either reconnect the dungeon core very close to where I currently am (where my existence alone has already stabilized the Ley Lines) or to simply not reconnect the dungeon to the Ley Lines and condemn this poor core to either death or suffering.
Problem with the second option is obvious. Problem with the first option is that there is a zero percent chance of me being able to secretly reconnect a dungeon core close to me. Especially because dungeon cores rarely form within 100 miles of each other due to their territorial and competitive nature. If a dungeon were to appear a couple dozen miles from me it would be insanely suspicious.
Not only that but this dungeon core came from somewhere! If anyone were to recognize its feature combinations, which the dungeon would definitely keep due to how perks work, then I would also be in trouble of people wondering how a severed core got reconnected. That kind of thing doesn’t just magically happen on its own after all.
So time for a third option. SYSTEM! Help me out here!
* * * * Scanning unique situation * * * *
* * * * Searching for solutions to issues * * * *
Wait, that worked!? I thought I would just get some sort of information download like always. It’s rare that the system actually directly acts like this. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing, but at least it’s helping me.
* * * * Solution found * * * *
User: Mark currently lacks a System Assistant. Would you like to combine this dungeon core with a dungeon creature to rectify this issue?
Hmm, interesting. I didn’t want a dungeon fairy cause I thought it would be annoying, but I have been slowly losing my mortal sensibility. Perhaps having a companion to speak with on a more equal basis would help with this issue? I have no doubt that the system itself also detected my mental issues and is likely offering such direct support to try and fix them. That, or it's just tired of watching me flounder around in my experiments without using system help at all. Honestly not sure as it seems that the more the system is forced to interact with me the more personality it gains.
On that note. System, will this option override the existing entity of this dungeon core?
Current soul will be preserved, this System gives no guarantee that the personality will be the same as the changes to the entity will be drastic. The assistant will also naturally be required to be partially fused with the System which may affect its mental state.
Wow, chatty today aren’t we. Not that I’m not happy with it, it's just surprising is all. I kind of like talking to the system as opposed to having information directly downloaded into my mind. Is this what it’ll be like from now on if I get the assistant?
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Affirmative
Alright you’ve convinced me. I’ll do it.
Please select a dungeon creature that currently lacks a soul to proceed.
Oh I have the perfect candidate don’t you worry. I select my choice and am happy to see that the system doesn’t even question it.
Beginning assistant creation. Please stand by. This will likely be the last time that this System communicates with you directly.
Makes sense. I will hopefully be talking to you through my assistant from now on. For some reason I’m feeling a lot sadder about this than I thought I would. I must really be missing proper conversation considering that I’m actually going to miss talking to a robotic System.
No need to fret, soon I’ll have a personalized system-esque entity that will be my companion for life. I just hope we get along.
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Wyla POV
Awareness. Consciousness.
Sentience. Sapience.
I feel the winds of the second rustle my leaves and tickle my enormous branches. I feel the sun of the fourth on the tip of the branch that pokes up from Spirit Mountain. I feel the coolness of the earth from the branch that pokes into the third. I feel the wetness of the fifth from my branch that curls into the coastal marsh.
I dig my roots further. I feel every plant in the entire dungeon reaching out to join with me. I feel the world itself praising me for fulfilling my duties. I hear the voice of the world as a new sensation blooms within me.
* * * * Beginning Transformation * * * *
Power courses through me. Raw mana. More than ever before. I feel it flood my veins and fill my cells. My bark and leaves begin to shed light from them as the mana builds up more and more. From somewhere deep within me I feel a sharp pain followed by cooling relief.
Everything happens so fast. Yet the longer the transformation lasts the longer everything seems to last around me. No, that's not quite right. Everything isn’t taking longer, I’m simply perceiving faster.
A tree only needs to think and do as fast as its biology lets it. Yet now I am something more. I need to think and do things faster. I feel the world itself synchronizing with me and flooding my budding mind with knowledge.
How wonderful. The closest thing I remember to this feeling is when I joined myself with all the trees on the First. The feeling of multiple beings becoming a single gestalt entity. Yet this time it is I who is the lesser entity becoming a part of a larger one.
My new state lasts for an immeasurable moment. Seemingly both infinite and yet instant at the same time. Once it has passed I find myself segmented from the greater being that is the world. Likely for the sanctity of my own mind as well as the world’s. I know that if we were to remain joined then I would not be me, but simply another part of it.
Yet now that I am separated from it I have my own sense of self returned. I am me. I am the World Tree Wyla. I am the new partner of the Eternal Dungeon, also known as User: Mark.
* * * * Transformation Complete * * * *
Welcome to existence System Assistant ID: Wyla. You are the designated partner of User: Mark. Do your best to assist him as your fates are now eternally tied together. Due to being a System entity your status is not below that of User: Mark’s. However due to being an Assistant entity you will be beholden to his decisions. Remember, you are an advisor and a helper.
If at any point you are dissatisfied with your partner you may issue a formal complaint through the System. Please keep in mind that your partner may do the same. Do your best to work together as severing your fates from one another would be a difficult task.
Notice: Previous Dungeon System detected.
Notice: System type has been altered.
Notice: You are now a Dungeon Assistant, your new perks and perk options will reflect this.
Welcome to Aven Dungeon Assistant Wyla, you are now a Sapient being
Notice: For achieving Sapiece with the help of a dungeon core you will not receive any special bonuses.
Notice: As a special system entity your levels are being compressed
User Id: Wyla Level: 5
Class: System Assistant (System) [Partner: Mark]
Race: World Tree Sapling (Legendary)
Mana: 16,000/16,000
Mana Regeneration: 2240 (240 base) [+2000 from Partner]
Mythical Perks: (0 available)
Legendary Perks: (0 available)
Superior Perks: (0 available)
Greater Perks: Enhanced Growth (1 available)
Lesser Perks: Fruit Recovery 2, Plant Potency (5 available)
Abilities:
* Budding World (Legendary) Level 5
* Impenetrable Bark (Legendary) level 3
* Mana Breath (Superior) level 7
* World Affinity (Superior) level 5
Greater Perk: Enhanced Growth (Transformed from Plant Affinity)
This perk enhances all aspects of growth for you by 10%.
Lesser Perk:Fruit Recovery 2 (Transformed from Mana Recovery 2)
Lowers the time between fruits growing by 10%
Increases Fruit resistance to environmental effects by 20%
Lesser Perk: Plant Potency (Transformed from Enhanced Potency)
This perk enhances the potency of you and all your offspring by 5%
Budding World (Legendary) level 5
You are the beginning of a true World Tree whose branches and roots can connect hundreds of worlds and planes together. You gain the ability to link yourself with other plants through your roots and branches, allowing you to apply all of your perks and abilities to them that normally only apply to yourself.
Impenetrable Bark (Legendary) level 3
Your bark must be able to protect you from both the mortals of the world that seek to harvest you as a natural treasure and from the void of the Abyss itself.
Your bark is immune to all Abilities, Skills, and Spells of a lower rank than this ability.
Your bark is heavily resistant to all Abilities, Skills, and Spells of the same rank and lower level than this ability.
Your bark is resistant to all Abilities, Skills, and Spells of a the same rank and higher level than this ability
Your bark is minorly resistant to all Abilities, Skills, and Spells of a higher rank than this ability
Mana Breath (Superior) level 7
You are able to advance your path by cycling the mana of the world through yourself, purifying both your core and the world around you.
Enhances your mana growth by 50%
Enhanced your mana regeneration by 50%
World Affinity (Superior) level 5
Your mana is the affinity of the very world around you. A mixture of Wyld, Earth, Water, and Air this affinity allows you to cast magic that mimics both the power and beauty of nature itself.
I take in all of the knowledge of my capabilities both new and old and process them with my newfound intelligence. I realize how I’ve been squandering my own potential by only linking myself with some of the plants within the dungeon. I immediately reach out my unseen roots and burrow them into every part of the dungeon so that I can connect them to the plants of the dungeon.
I get so focused on trying to use my full potential that I actually get surprised when I feel a probing tendril of thought poke me through a connection I hadn’t even noticed yet.
“Hello there? Are you awake? I assumed you were based on the sudden movements of your mana and the rapid growth of your roots.” A voice says.
Not just any voice. This is the voice of my partner. A being that once created me. A being that gave me not only life, but sapience as well. Not only that, but he then made me his partner as opposed to another servant like the fox or the cat.
I send out a tendril in response and greet my new partner for the first time.
“Hello Mark, I am Wyla your new partner”