Valen awoke to the sense that he had no senses. He couldn't feel anything, smell anything, taste anything, hear anything, or even see anything. Everything was just an empty darkness, a void of nothingness that surrounded him. Valen squirmed in the void, desperately trying to figure out what to do. He felt... contained, and he hated the feeling.
After a moment that to him felt like a year, he finally made a discovery. He pushed against the invisible walls around him, and something appeared in his mind; like a sort of literal mental picture.
Do you wish to expand your Influence by 1 yard at the cost of 100 Mana?
Valen recognized this sort of messages; he had gotten them all the time during his training, every living thing did. However, he had no idea what it meant by "Influence," and he wasn't comfortable with spending Mana on something he didn't know, especially until he knew how much Mana he had.
So, to try and find that out, Valen focused on two words:
[Personal Status]
Personal Status:
Name: Valen Cross
Race: Dungeon-Infant
Level: 1
Stats:
Mana: 500/500(Reg.:0p/hr)
Influence: 0 yards
Strength: 1
Magic: 1
Willpower: 1
Affinities:
Fire: 10
Water: 10
Earth: 10
Air: 10
Dark: 10
Light: 10
Nature: 50
Skills: [Druidism-Apprentice Lv.1], [Corruption-Lv.1], [Dominate-Lv.1] Traits: [Higher Being], [Master of Hivemind]
So, it worked, Valen thought. The dagger had been said to possess the ability to cause a mortal to ascend to a higher being. While Valen had admittedly thought that meant he would become a Deity or powerful Demon or something along those lines, that was, apparently, not the case. Instead, it had turned him into a Dungeon.
As he looked over his Status, he was surprised to see the [Druidism] Skill. He was pretty sure that was because he had originally been a Druid, though he had been an [Adept Lv.20], so he had apparently been reset in that area. His Stats were also very different, and oddly enough, Influence was actually measured in yards.
What worried him, however, was that his Mana Regeneration was at zero, so he wouldn't gain any Mana he spent. Still, he had to do something. So, he went back to the spread Influence option and confirmed it:
Influence has been increased by 1 yard at the cost of 100 Mana.
Max Mana has gone from 500 to 600
Mana Reg. has gone from 0p/hr to 1p/hr.
A strange sensation came over Valen. Suddenly, it felt as if he could "feel" everything a yard from the walls around him. It wasn't the same as touch, nor any of the other sense Valen remembered. Whatever it was, through it, Valen could tell that he was a small purple gemstone only a few inches in diameter, and he could feel that he was buried in what was basically hard mud on almost all sides, with a small part of him sticking out from the surface. The air above him felt damp and filthy, suggesting he was in a cavern far from the light of day.
As for where the Mana was coming from, it seemed like he was naturally absorbing it from the land around him, instead of naturally producing it himself. This suggested that the more his Influence grew, the more Mana he would gain and be able to have. However, Valen's excitement at such a prospect quickly perished when he tried to expand his Influence again.
Do you wish to expand your Influence by 1 yard at the cost of 250 Mana?
So, it looked like it would cost more and more Mana with each expansion. Valen accepted, then sighed as the confirmation message came up:
Influence has been increased by 1 yard at the cost of 250 Mana.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Max Mana has gone from 600 to 850
Mana Reg. has gone from 1p/hr to 3p/hr.
So, well it looked like his maximum Mana would always increase by the cost, and that his Mana Regeneration would also go up a bit more each time, 3 Mana an hour wasn't exactly fast. In fact, no amount of Mana per hour would ever be fast.
Sure enough, he lacked the Mana to expand his Influence any further. So, he just waited. Thankfully, he didn't have hunger or thirst to worry about. However, unfortunately, he also couldn't sleep. The closed he got was a sort of hibernation/meditation that made time seem to pass right by him.
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Finally, after what most likely had been months, or maybe even a year or two, something different happened as Valen purchased his tenth foot of Influence:
Influence has been increased by 1 yard at the cost of 2,500 Mana.
Max Mana has gone from 4,800 to 7,300
Mana Reg. has gone from 16p/hr to 21p/hr.
Congratulations!
You've fulfilled the Level Up Requirments and reached Level 2!
You've gained 1 Stats Point!
You've gained 10 Dungeon Points!
You've gained the Skills: [Create Plant-Lv.1], [Create Wildlifel-Lv.1], [Create Monster-Lv.1]!
You stupid fucking idiot! Valen internally screamed at himself. He hadn't checked the Level up requirements! Before, when he had been human, it had mostly been something like: get this much experience. However, there were sometimes unique ones! The main one was that before a person could reach Level 2, they had to be a certain age(13 for humans) and then in order to get past Level 10, you first had to get a Class!
He had been so enamored with his current form, he had completely forgotten to see what requirements a being like a Dungeon would need to Level Up! Of course it wouldn't be anything like a human's!
How the hell could I overlook that? Dammit! Valen grumbled again as he focused on bringing up the requirements list:
Requirments to reach Level 3:
1. Increase Influence to 100 yards
2. Have over 1000 Minor Plants
3. Have over 100 Minor Wildlife
4. Have over 50 Minor Monsters
5. Have a Boss Monster
1-100 yards? Are you fucking serious? How old are the Dungeons in this world? Centuries? Valen thought as he thought of how long it took him to get to ten yards.
There had to be a way to increase his Mana Reg. beyond just increasing his Influence. As Valen thought on it, he decided to look at what he should spend his Stat point on. First, however, he looked at what his three Stats actually did:
Stats:
Strength: Each point increases the Stats of all Monsters, Plants, and Animals the Dungeon controls by 10%
Magic: Each point gives the Dungeon new Spells and Magic Types.
Willpower: Each point increases a Dungeons mental powers, extending the range beyond the Dungeon its creatures will remain connected to it by 100 yards and increasing the Dungeons ability to Corrupt the minds of others
Valen looked over his Stats as he considered his options. When he actually had Monsters and other things, Strength would be a necessity. However, until he had them, it was pointless. Willpower was in the same boat, so, he put the point in Magic.
No, he didn't put the point in because he was giddy at the idea of new Spells and Magic Types to play with; that would be childish.
Magic increased to 2
New Skill learned: [Enchanting-Apprentice Lv.1]
New Spells learned: [Tier 1 Enchantment]
Enchanting? Valen had been hoping for something a little more flashy and, well, combat oriented. But, he guessed Dungeons didn't tend to fight directly.
However, he then remembered the three new Skills he had gotten from Leveling up. He opened the Skill, [Create Plants-Lv.1], and would have gasped if he had lungs. Or a mouth.
Create Plants:
Level: 1
Allows one to create Plants that have either been purchased in the store at the cost of Dungeon points, unlocked by Leveling this Skill up, or Plants that have been absorbed or evolved. Created Plants give the Dungeon a small Mana tax every hour.
Current Plants:
Troll Root: Basic Herb used in basic healing potions. Cost: 198 Mana
Mage Flower: Herb used in basic mana potions. Cost: 198 Mana
Maria's Tear: Herb that, when consumed, reduces fertility in women. Cost: 198 Mana
Valen looked over the three herbs. They were all basic, making him groan as he wondered what the cost of the better Plants would be. He briefly wondered why he started out with "Maria's Tear," but then he realized that as a Dungeon he would get visited by Adventures, who could be "adventurous" in quite a few ways. So, he guessed a herb like Maria's Tear was rather... required, to put it lightly, in a Dungeon.
The bizarre cost of "198" was somewhat confusing to Valen, but then he realized in an instant why it was the way it was:
Druidism:
Rank: Apprentice
Level: 1
- Reduces cost of creating plants by 1%
- Increases growth cycle of plants in Dungeon by 1%
The Skill was, quite simply, completely different from when he had been human. Valen was shocked at this, though a part of his brain asked him why he was so surprised.
So, focusing his magic, Valen activated his Skill [Create Plant] and created a Maria's Tear a foot from his core. It was a small flower with many stems that had bright white bulbous flowers. He focused on it, causing its Status to appear:
Maria's Tear:
A basic herb that when consumed will reduce the fertility of women. Can also be used in potions, which will have similar effects.
Upkeep Status: 1 p/hr
Mana Tax: +5
Sunlight Substitute: -2
Water Substitute: -1
Fertile Soil Substitute: -1
Huh?