"Now let me see what kind of shape your domain is in. Looks like your domain is naturally a sphere, but that would waste a lot of space. So let's shape it into a cylinder with a radius and height equal, which gives us 1.65 km in both radius and height. Wow, for the first floor that is BIG! And we don't need an air space of over 1.6 kilometres. Let's put that around 1.2 kilometres, that gets us a diameter of 2 kilometres." Then she just sat, there in silence. After some time I asked, "Shouldn't we continue?" That got her out of her stupor.
"Let's set the bedrock to be 5 meters of strange stone with its settings set to quartzite. Then above that 15 meters of rich soil. Then set the spawn of vegetation at natural. Animals... None, right you don't have any air here so that would have eaten all of your mana. Now that I remember that we are going to need to set up a containment area around the entry portal. Let's encase the portal in one no two meters of strange stone. Alright, do you have any you want to add?" She asked.
"No, I can't think of anything else... Wait, the mutation, shouldn't we use that?"
"Oh right! We are setting all of this up for free so might as well set up the mutation. Here it is, oh, can't set up the mutation to be used on all so let's set it to random max. Ok, now it is complete. Now try to get a feel for what the system is helping you to do, you might get something out of it." Saying that she pressed the complete button.
Immediately I felt a sensation. Like someone was pressing against my arm and moving it to a different position. I tried to follow the sensation but it started to ramp up in speed. As I focused on the sensation, other things faded out.
After pushing my domain into the specified shape it began to materialize tons of stone and dirt. I carefully tried to sense the mana as it was moved by the system. At first, the feeling was hazy but it got clearer. I saw that a faucet of mana was right above me and a torrent of mana was flowing through it. Most of it was brown in colour and tasted like dirt but some were different, like death, life, water and many I couldn't even name.
When the dirt and stone were completely laid. I saw the mana change to life, plant, water, light, healing and more. It spawned small seeds at what seemed random. Then a stream of mana went to them and got absorbed into it. I tried to understand how the spell worked, so I followed it around trying to determine its secrets. Slowly I began to understand how the mana sang a song of growth and health to the seed and the seed sang back. Suddenly something clicked and I knew how to grow a seed. As I was processing what I had just witnessed I heard a slight popping sound.
I turned to its source and saw what looked like a stone cocoon. I tried to move my view into it and it worked. I saw that inside was a shimmering silver portal with amber and purple streaks that seemed to move around. I then heard Lily near my core say, "You now need to absorb some of the air inside of the cocoon. Think of it like taking a bite out of a meal or drinking something"
I could not get my head around the image of chewing on air so I tried slurping some. And that did the trick as I felt as if I drank air. It was free, fleeting and more. I was jolted awake by Lily. She seemed a bit jittery and said, "You need to make more air in your Dungeon immediately or there will be an explosion. And before you say you don't have the pattern, you got that from eating the air. Now please get to it!"
I frantically tried to make some air but didn't succeed. I calmed a little and focused on the way the System used the mana to make the dirt and took inspiration from there. I imagined how the air had tasted, how it felt in my memories and it worked. I felt a continuous stream of mana leave me and create air right outside of the cocoon.
I kept at it for what felt like hours but in reality was about I don't know. So I asked Lily about how long I was summoning air and found that I was doing it for 30 hours. It shocked me a bit hearing that. I asked how long ago I became a Dungeon. For which she said that it has been 5 days. And that the system took 2 days to summon all of the dirt, stone and plants.
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After some more hours, I felt the air pressure had come to a suitable position and stopped summoning more air. Then I started to dissolve the stone cocoon around the portal chunks at a time. As the portal was fully revealed I was hit by a feeling of connection and rejuvenated. I opened my notifications and saw that I had a lot of messages unread so I tried to compile them.
> Your Skill list has been updated—
>
> Insight 6 > 10
>
> Identify 10 > 11
>
> Self-Discipline 11 > 12
>
> Meditation 21 > 25
>
> Visualization 17 > 20
>
> Interface Modification 2 > 4
>
> Mana Sense 1 > 20
>
> Mana Manipulation 1 > 17
>
> Domain Manipulation 1 > 15
>
> Observe 1 > 17
>
> You have gained the pattern: Air (Magidus Standard)
>
> Your Gift Archmage Seed has awakened a new Facet: Learn Spells by observing.
>
> You have learned a new Spell: Enhance Plant Growth.
>
> You have leveled up (×4).
It seemed that a lot happened. My Gift gained a new Facet, gained four new Skills, and even leveled up four times! I looked over at Lily and asked why I had gotten that many levels.
She happily bobbed and said, "Dungeons get exp by making floors based on the complexity and the size of it, they also gain an exp multiplier for the Skills, Patterns, and Spells they have related to the floor type they are building. You most likely got this many levels from just the size of the floor as Dungeons in the Overworld get way more patterns and Skills as they can mess around their surrounding, whereas a rift Dungeon has literally nothing. You got so many patterns and Skills from your Gifts. Normal Rift Dungeons don't even have that. So normally leveling is slower for Rift Dungeons. But enough talk about that every level with a five in it you gain one perk selection so let's open that up!"
I opened my main status up to see if something had changed.
> Name: (unnamed)
>
> Race: Dungeon Core (Rift)
>
> Integrity: 89%
>
> Mana: 56/200
>
> Mana Regen: 20/hr (reserved: 5)
>
> Title: Soul Devourer
>
> Achievement: Ritual Spawn
>
> Class: Synthetic Nature lvl 5
>
> Theme: Forest, {Verdant Forest}*
>
> Gift: [open tab]
>
> Skills: [open tab]
Some things had changed, there was the verdant forest theme with squiggly brackets and a star. And there was even a Mana Regen section though I couldn't understand how that was calculated. I asked Lily about that. She seemed to get a bit angry that I didn't head for the perk selection but calmed down easily, "The squiggly bracket signifies that the theme is a compound one and the star signifies that it is currently equipped on one floor, the more floors its equipped on the more stars. The mana Regen is there because now you can refill your mana naturally by taking in mana from the Overworld through the portal. It only works if there is a physically unobstructed path to your core from the portal that mana can take. The bigger the was the more mana that is entering you can absorb. The mana you are currently absorbing is the sum of the reserve and currently available. The reserved mana is to maintain all of the plants as there isn't any light for them to photosynthesis with, nor any water. Now can we open and see the perks?"
I obliged to her request and opened up the perk selection.
> Please choose one of the perks—
>
> 1. Simulated Weather: The Dungeon can create and control weather patterns within its domain. This includes the ability to summon rain, snow, fog, thunderstorms, and more, tailored to the needs of the environment and its inhabitants. Simulated weather can enhance growth, provide protection, or create challenging conditions for intruders.
>
> 2. Rapid Growth: The Dungeon can accelerate the growth of plants and other organic creatures within its domain using mana. This perk allows for the quick development of forests, crops, and other vegetation, ensuring that the ecosystem remains lush and abundant. Rapid growth can also be used strategically to create barriers or resources in a short amount of time.
>
> 3. Harmonic Resonance: This perk allows the Dungeon to harmonize the energies within its domain, creating a balanced and synergistic environment. Harmonic Resonance also amplifies the power of spells and enchantments, making them more potent and stable.