'Graaaaa!' I subconsciously scream as intense pain spikes through my mind, my new legs tightly curling in on themselves as I do my best to not swallow the Earth crystal.

Again.

WARNING: You are being subjected to Mana Poisoning and your Health has been reduced by [Two] points! [16/23]

Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Death, Light, and Shadow: there's a surprising variety to the basic types of magic in this world, and most have subtypes. While the level of Arcana I have doesn't give much of their details, I am able to confirm Earth has the initial subtypes of Mineral (including dirt and rocks) and Plants. It goes deeper too: as skill increases in Mineral one branch progresses to the metal subtype starting with iron, then progresses from iron to steel, and then to another metal, but I'm not sure what yet.

Arcana also tells me that a Mage uses spell patterns to manipulate these types and subtypes. It actually seems quite challenging to learn, but it is much more versatile- allowing many types of spells to be performed.

Thankfully as a monster I get to cheat and bypass all that by doing it intuitively!

Well, mostly bypass: I can brute force spells I'm not able to cast naturally by using the crystals, but I'm finding the "deeper" I go from the base element the harder, and more painful, manipulating it becomes.

Infusing Iron for the Iron Spider thread had the mental equivalent of being hit in the head with a baseball bat.

So going Mineral > Iron > Steel ?

It's like getting a red hot rod shoved through your head, and how well I can handle physical pain doesn't matter with this kind of mental suffering.

I have to use the Earth crystal to create twelve feet of steel line per dagger – and I have to do that nine times. Each takes roughly twelve minutes.

And this was only the third.

I take some time to mentally recover before delving into the next: I'm just glad I only need to make these once.

-

–

—

Group 2 Delvers

Gillian : Tank, Dwarf

William: Fighter, Human

Trevor : Monk/Cleric (Healer), Human

Follower of Corinth : Goddess of health and medicine.

Victor : Beast Tamer, Elf

Follower of Pan : God of Beasts and Monsters

—

"Trevor, help me get this off?" Gillian asks– barely having the energy to remove his heavy armor, and only doing so because he knows he'll be sleeping for an entire day. Once the weight is lifted from his body and our own we all slump down, exhausted.

Something has changed in the dungeon.

While we tend to get along, Victor, our Beast Tamer, has borne the brunt of our frustration. Between his class and being Follower of Pan, we rely on his knowledge of creatures to guide us and help keep us safe.

Recently, he hasn't been able to do so.

New, strange varieties of monsters have been showing up. Things we've fought countless times now look and act differently. Even little bugs we've long thought of as no more than an annoyance have returned to being a threat.

We had to pass through a "Level 1" Forest Floor, something we have done many times. The creatures in it shouldn't have been a challenge. Usually we don't even need to use the Ward Stones in it.

To his credit, Victor was the first to notice something was off. We were having a jolly time joking around when he suddenly froze and signaled to us. He summoned a Water Frog and to our confusion had it investigate a stump. When the ground began to attack the frog we were surprised. When the frog was gutted, we became concerned.

A treant, but unlike any we have seen before.

Normally treants start as a parasitic monster: they disguise as a small sapling and attempt to strangle any passersby. Once they reach second level they take over their last preys body and use it as a base for their evolution.

Spawned there, a treant should never be able to get past Level 1.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

But this? This is different. Its looks. It's Tactics. The Water Frog was a level two beast, it should have been far above anything we would face.

When the frog fell into a hole it was pierced. It jumped out- and was pierced by a different root when it landed. The second root tried to drag it back down a hole and in a panic the frog jumped- and this time when struck it was gutted.

Boobytraps- both inside and around the pit. It's a level of cunning never seen in this area, let alone by a treant.

And it's mouth: It is clear it has no intention of integrating with its target.

We kept to Ranged attacks to beat it: it wasn't too difficult as the creature couldn't move. Once dead we had to chop off the roots at its base to inspect the body. We received many stabs to our feet in the process and realized just how dangerous getting close had been.

Once we had it's body dug out, we found it to have a Monster Core. A core at first level? Though small, it still made it more deadly.

And it's name: "Common Treant".

We know how things are named by the Dungeon, and this does not bode well.

Things went downhill from there. We set up the Ward Stones to rest as a precaution and were thankful for it when we started getting pelted by stones. The one down side of the ward is that it only stops creatures from passing through: it does nothing against physical and magical attacks. Most of the stones were harmless, but some were dangerous, leaving welts in their wake. It took half an hour to kill the dozen roaches that were firing upon us. Of all things, roaches- and a few with tiny cores.

A few hours later William was hit "by something poisoned". For such a small thing- no bigger than a hair- it was powerful. Victors level of Inspect only told us it's "A small poisonous needle."

Then one hit me as well; it felt like being pinched until the poison effect began.

Gillian had us in formation then, and we set about using our gear as a light barricade against the ranged attacks. An hour later Victor was able to determine the needles were made by spiders. For a moment we thought he had gone mad and an argument ensued. Admittedly we were just frustrated at being pinned down.

Eventually he shot an arrow near straight up and the first body of a new breed of monster, now dead, literally fell into our laps.

Hitting it told him it's an "Iron Spider". Metal creatures are normal, but it too has a small Core. One of a dozen.

And that was just the beginning.

Having laid my mat on the ground I fall onto it, finally able to relax knowing no monster can make it into a Safe Zone. I vaguely acknowledge Victor passing by with his bag and feel sorry for him; while I don't know what goes on for him in the Sanctuary, I have a feeling he'll be there a while.

—

With eyes closed the double doors meet before me, ensuring my privacy in the Sanctuary. I do my best not to slouch out of respect, but after the past month it's difficult.

Turning around my eyes pass over the statues, coming to rest on one: the statue of a wolf howling at an unseen moon.

I drop my bag beside it while pulling out a knife, followed by placing multiple small corpses within reach. In my long life this is something I have done many times, but it's been years since my offerings were so many. 'Since my fledgling days?' I question, time dulling my memories.

Cutting my hand I reach up, smearing a small amount of blood onto the wolf statue.

"Pan : God of Beasts and Father of Monsters, please accept this sacrifice."

I pause as the blood is absorbed into the marble statue, its form losing shape as it melts before reforming into a bowl.

Reaching over I pick up the large section of "Common Treant", placing it in the bowl, then press a bloody thumbprint upon the form.

"In your name and your honor, I pray to be imparted with knowledge of my kill, and how it may serve to enrich our lives."

I watch as the bowl envelopes the flesh and forms a sphere before reshaping into…

I sit there, momentarily stunned, in confusion.

Pans statue is unique amongst the Gods: unlike the other gods statues Pans rarely depict himself, instead taking on the form of the last creature offered to him. The only exception is a newly formed Sanctuary, where one of the many forms of Pan are seen until the first offering is made. This is a known fact amongst his followers.

Shaking I reach up and touch the new statue, the form of an inch thick sapling standing on the altar.

'It's wrong.' I think flatly, my fingers confirming the inaccurate depiction of the offered creature. As I try to mentally correct what I feel and see, an Identify window opens.

Treant [1]

A parasitic plant.

This creature remains motionless until a target approaches before attempting to strangle its victim. Upon reaching Level 2 it absorbs its defeated foe, or the next one it kills, and takes its form. It gains a Skill that best aids its new form in battle.

Treant Sap is a powerful coagulant when applied directly to a wound. A core ingredient of Healing Potions [...]

My eyes dart between the window and the statue. "Did, did _I_ do something wrong?" I ask out loud.

That has to be it. I must have done something wrong when I made the offering. Maybe I had a stick stuck to my hand and didn't notice?

"That has to be it." I reason, and repeat the starting ritual to reshape the statue into a bowl.

This time I drop in an Iron Spider. The whole body. Everything but it's Monster Core, which aren't needed with the offerings.

I watch as the sphere reshapes itself into that of an attacking spider.

'T- that's it right?' I question, a slight laugh escaping my lips at the absurd idea that it isn't an iron spider, but a regular one instead. 'I mean, they look the same, right? It just looks off because it's marb-'

My thoughts come to a halt as a new window opens and I immediately begin reading it.

Venomous Spider [1]

A small black venomous spider. These spiders tend to travel in clusters and are rarely encountered alone. With a tendency to build expansive webs they wait for their target to be distracted before attacking.

The spiders hold little value, but if collected their venom can tip a weapon to add poison damage.

I reach down and grab the next creature before remembering to reset the bowl, drenching the small section of fur in blood before finishing the offering prayer.

I repeat the process with the next creature.

And again.

And again.

—