“Mana, when used, is tinged with a person's pattern, which is unique for each individual musch like their fingerprints. Concerning this, when one crafts, their mana is infused into every part of the process. Afterward, any mana imbued from someone else on the finished product will be repulsed or dispersed depending on the mana’s strength, possibly ruining it. This matters not for most, except for the highly skilled. As such, they will pay great wealth to create custom-made equipment, combining their mana with the crafters during the process of making. On the upside, such properties make it impossible to take control of another's mana or magic. Speaking of magic, anyone can use their affinity, but not anyone can do magic. For example, using kinetic affinity, one could increase the force of their blow or mitigate that force by spreading it out. However, only mages or those who studied it can use Telekinesis. Simply put, anyone can cook, but not everyone is a chef.”
-A piece from “Mysteries of Mana” by ????
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Aiden
I was watching Bianca and her party members enter the dungeon, focusing part of my attention on them while the rest began scanning the entire floor. A lot more delvers were currently everywhere, and the number had increased steadily in these few days. Before, there were some hours when there were no delvers. Now, it was only empty at night, and even that was getting shorter.
Firstly, I checked the Herb Section. The monsters there were great at camouflaging as ordinary herbs, slowly letting their prey infused with their weakening scent. Hiding, waiting until they are immobile as they tangle them to drain them.
Of course, considering most of them are experienced delvers, hardly anyone gets fully drained unless from Levi. With the second evolution, I saw a lot of varieties just from the herb monsters: sharp leaves causing continuous bleeding, herbs producing addictive substances causing hallucinations, rashes causing swelling enough to block your throat, and more. I had to decide, so I was left with these after culling all the ones I thought were too dangerous.
Sleeping, muscle relaxants, mind confusion, paralysis, and dulling of the senses. These effects are enough to impede and harm without putting someone’s life at risk. In addition, by reducing their fatality, they had much more potent scents and effects, camouflaging ability, and mobility than the ones I culled.
Then, looking toward the spice section, which I had named Kiely’s Spice Fiesta, I saw a four-person party fighting some monsters.
Species
Peppercorn Sprayer
Description
A plant-type monster based on the pepper tree flings peppercorns as they explode into a powder spreading wide, causing constant sneezing when breathed in and irritation once directly in contact with skin. Will tangle its weakened prey with its roots draining their energy.
Affinity
Arcane, Nature, Life, ◼◼◼
Skill
Root manipulation, Fling, Exploding Fruit, Growth, Enhanced Fruit, Enhanced Spice, Enhanced Effect, Tangle, Drain
Trait
Dungeon Born, Mob
Species
Cinnamon Treant
Description
A plant-type monster based on the cinnamon tree, a treant with hard defenses and tough vitality, tangles its prey with its roots and branches. When the bark is damaged, it will explode into cinnamon powder. It will tangle its prey with branches and roots, draining their energy.
Affinity
Arcane, Nature, Life, ◼◼◼
Skill
Hard Bark, Swinging Branches, Regeneration, Resistant Bark, Cinnamon Bark, Branch Manipulation, Root Manipulation, Tangle, Drain
Trait
Dungeon Born, Mob
Species
Garlic Bomber
Description
A plant-type monster based on garlic will explode into garlic powder once the prey is near it, causing constant crying exposure near the eye and chemical burns when exposed to the skin. The garlic cloves will regrow to explode again and must destroy the roots to kill it. A symbiotic relationship with the surrounding monsters will gain a share of the prey by helping them.
Affinity
Arcane, Nature, Life, ◼◼◼
Skill
Camouflage, Hiding, Timed Explosion, Growth, Regeneration, Enhanced Spice, Enhanced Spice, Enhanced Effect, Drain
Trait
Dungeon Born, Mob
The peppercorn flung its fruits as they exploded into a cloud of pepper powder. The cinnamon treant was defending it. Meanwhile, the garlic moved stealthily in the ground, leaving pieces of its clove behind as they exploded out of the ground into garlic powder a few seconds later.
This section was these three positions of monsters. Clove, bay, nutmeg, allspice, and more became treants, tanking damage and protecting the two. Ginger, turmeric, mustard, anise, and other spices for underground plants became bombs, and for the flowering plants atop, they released spice powder once an enemy was near.
Different kinds of pepper, peppercorn, sichuan pepper, sancho pepper, and more would fling their peppers toward their enemy. There is also a special kind for salt where salt crystals would form on their branches as they flung it at them, of course, it doesn’t cause much damage except for itching once a wound is made.
The party was prepared wearing Aetheria’s version of gas masks, powered by mana. In all honesty, I thought most delvers would breeze through this floor, excluding three sections. Anyone with a hazmat suit and able body could breeze through the rest. I designed this floor mainly to attract delvers and entice them with what I could give, I never thought they would need this much effort.
To explain, their masks are expensive, and so is the energy used. For the mask to work, it needs air mana stones, which contain air mana. The masks use this mana to make a wind barrier around their heads, isolating them while creating oxygen for them to breathe.
As to where you get these mana stones it’s from monsters, every monster carries a mana stone that functions similarly to the heart, the stronger the monster the bigger it is, and the quality is determined by how many times it has evolved.
As for dungeon monsters, since they are not real ‘monsters’ and the core acts as their mana stone instead, there is about a 5% chance for it to be dropped when killed, 1% if its bosses.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Anyway, gas masks are expensive, and the mana stone, too, is like oil on Earth. Gas masks also have terrible fuel efficiency. Of course, everyday devices like water supply, lights, agriculture, buildings, and so on, are much more efficient since they have been and are being continuously researched.
A gas mask is a luxury item, because why would anyone use such money to go through dangerous places needing it, and why would those who do need to go through it buy it? After all dangerous place=dangerous monsters and anyone capable of defeating those monsters can handle the environment without the mask.
Anyway, back to the party. Soon, one of the party members found the garlic monster, stabbing it through the ground and damaging its roots as it dispersed into mana, with loot spawning on top of the ground.
The other three soon finished off the cinnamon treant as it fell, exploding into mana before it hit the ground. With the peppercorn sprayer left, one of them used air affinity to blow away the cinnamon, pepper, and garlic powder as they turned off the gas masks.
Soon, one of them used air affinity to blow away the pepper powder while the others attacked. The last one fell as it tuned into mana. However, soon, I saw the party writhing as they couldn’t avoid it touching their skin. They began to express their pain freely now that the threat was gone. Soon, I saw them take out slaves and apply them as they quickly healed.
As soon as they checked the loot, they were thrilled to see that one of them had dropped a life mana stone. Monsters drop a mana stone according to their affinity, arcane was the most common but most used always selling for a stable amount, nature had limited uses but fetched a high price for nobles having hobbies of growing exotic plants, and life was invaluable were there was no shortage of demand.
Hunger mana stones couldn’t be dropped. Asking Hector the reason, and he said that hunger is something too personal and vague. Just because mana can become anything doesn’t mean they are. Once something like that becomes an affinity, they mean they have reached godhood for it.
He speculated that it was made possible by my human creativity and the dungeon core’s infinite affinity capabilities affecting the monsters. Also, healing affinity is one of the rarest, if not the priciest, so once Evangeline and the elites got it, I was worried that someone would kill them for the money. However, the church did help by warning the people and declaring that should one go against the dungeon's will, they would make an enemy out of the Theocracy, which was a relief.
Thinking about the church, seeing them so excited, and the frugal way they used the mask, I realized who they were or came to be here. Once in place, the church began to buy everything that came from my dungeon at half a price higher than it was worth. So, naturally, many sold it as the priests and acolytes began to study them, though I doubt they could find anything out of it.
Andrea wasn’t pleased, from what Hector found, she had managed to gain the right to be the only commerce platform in this settlement for four months. Different from her five months and monopoly on my dungeon she decaleraed at first but still impressive. When she politely mentioned to Nolan the clause, he said they were donations and the church gave them money for gratitude, not buying. This was true, some believers did donate it and they did give the money even though they refused one or two times. But, not all of them.
Andrea had a grimace on her face but relented soon enough as the loss outweighed the gains from fighting the church. That day, she began recruiting adventures, each of them signing magical contracts, from what I gathered from the recruited adventures talking in my dungeon, the most important information was the following.
1. Must stay and live in this settlement for 10 years and may not leave or go out of the settlement.
2. All items gained from the Dungeon of Desire, not personally used will be exclusively sold to the Fenimore Company at a fair price.
3. Anything concerning the Dungeon of Desire and the settlement cannot be disclosed to anyone not involved.
In exchange, Andrea gave them money and a house. The people who took the contract were mostly desperate, with sick families, towering debts, people needing high-expense treatment, or just poor and unlucky. They agreed, and from the ones I’ve seen in the dungeon, they weren’t bad.
And I’m not talking about their skills as delvers but as a person. Sure, they are not saints, but they are no criminals. Whether she did it on purpose or was forced, my impression of her did improve. After all, she gave these people hope for a better life. I hadn’t seen her for a week, so I gathered she was still out there recruiting more people.
Then I felt a party engage the floor boss, Kailey.
Name
Kailey Saffron Seraphim
Race
Spice Tree
Titles
The Spice Lord, Spice Mixer, Heat Bringer, Spicy Dancer
Affinity
Arcane, Life, Nature,◼◼◼
Skill
Pepper Spray, Capciusm Dance, Enhance Spice, Pepper Explosion, Spice Bark, Dancing Branches, Spicy Leaves, Salt Storm, Root Manipulation Barrage, Regeneration, Growth…
Trait
Dungeon Born, Floor Monster, Energetic
While Levi was more like protecting his territory, Kailey was having fun engaging the delvers. She was an 80-meter tree that would rain down all sorts of spices from above and below, also releasing spice powder when hit.
She was simply everything this section had offered into one being, faster, stronger, more potent, and more intelligent. Her fight was simple, cut her down or survive until she ran out of energy since she would continue to produce spices even using her life force making her be defeated naturally.
The problem was the irritating spices and the roots attacking to drain their energy. While also avoiding those attacks, you have to continuously engage with her by being close to her and hitting her from time to time or she will ignore the delvers. Once, some delvers retreated to see if she would tire herself out, after which she called in reinforcements from her section. The delvers were overloaded with the monsters coming, and once subdued, she made them drink pure capsicum.
As I saw the delvers dodging the root attacks with their masks and tight clothing, I knew it would be a battle to see who would have the energy to continue standing at the end.
I smiled slightly, seeing how happy she was. There may not be a bond like with Hector and Evangeline, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t know how they felt. Kailey, excited and encouraged by my gaze, accelerated as spice began to storm down, and root attacks and spice bombs blew up below.
Then, I looked over after I noticed another one of my floor bosses being engaged. This was the fruit section called Clara’s Fruitful Path. This section’s evolution took a strange turn. Unlike the others, the monsters here were immobile. They could use their roots to tangle and attack, but they couldn’t move from their spots.
By sacrificing their movement, they gained the Curse affinity. Once the enemy was in position, they would drop or fling the fruits from above, exploding when close, drenching them in juice and residue. They would then use their roots to drain their weakened prey.
Once hit, delvers would be imbued with a temporary curse of all kinds depending on the fruits. Like cherry for speed down, orange for strength down, apple for reaction speed down, and such. At first, I removed some of the fruits I thought were too dangerous however, once I saw how the delvers delved I realized that my thinking was like saying sports are dangerous to a professional player.
And with Evangeline and the Elites gaining the healing affinity it relieved my worries, so I added the fruits I had previously removed: watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, jackfruit, and durian. I know watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe are vine plants, but anything can happen with mana and dungeon abilities.
Like a 1-meter watermelon falling from a 15-meter tree, almost hitting a delver exploding before it could hit. All the monsters do stop or retreat when it seems dangerous or if the delver is too strong however, I am still cautious after all these monsters are following my subconscious.
Now, on to Clara!
Name
Clara Sunshine Seraphim
Race
Fruit Bearer
Titles
The Fruit Lord, One Hundred Curses, Fruitful Harvest, Fallen Bounty
Affinity
Arcane, Life, Nature, Curse, ◼◼◼
Skill
Imbue Curse, Curse Fruit, Explode Fruit, Enhance Curse, Fruit Volley, Regeneration, Root Manipulation, Curse of Weakness, Disorienting Mind, Slow, Lower Resistance, Rust…
Trait
Dungeon Born, Floor Monster, Shy
Clara was a 100-meter tree, able to bear any fruit I had made. She would imbue the fruits with the curses, and from what I have seen, she has gotten quite good at it by finding the right curse for the right fruit to amplify it. She would throw them down as they exploded putting a curse on anything it touched.
The way to defeat her was similar to Kailey's, cut her down or survive until she falls on her own. As Clara continues to produce fruits and curses, she absorbs the juice and residue around her, cursing herself in the process. The more curses she bears, the stronger she gets. However, once she reaches her threshold, she will fall on her own. Of course, retreating is not an option since she will explode herself, cursing anyone in the vicinity.
A five-person party was engaging her as she threw her fruits at them. The party was prepared bringing a mage and priest who could use Dispel Curse or Purification while wearing curse-warding charms.
Clara didn’t feel much about the devlers as she preferred her time alone, so she wasn’t thrilled with the delvers, but she didn’t hate it either. Soon, I felt Bianca’s party fighting the Floor Boss, Samina.
‘Oh, and here I thought I would lead Samina to the party to play if they haven’t met.”
Soon, I saw the party surrounded by many monsters with the Floor Boss behind.
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Down below is a simple diagram of the dungeon. (It is very crude and not accurate, it is meant to help understand the layout.)
image [https://i.imgur.com/kTrKHFv.jpeg]
image [https://i.imgur.com/WrlLpkN.png]