Year 52, Month 2, Day 9
I keep trying to process the notification. What did that imply? Am I some kind of dungeon creature? That doesn’t make sense based on my memories of tropes and games but why would I be shown this?
To make matters worse, as I stewed, I was being carried by the skeleton deeper towards the back of the mines. The others who had collected weapons didn’t follow but instead found their own positions. I kept trying to fight back when possible but I couldn’t cause any significant damage and my captor didn’t seem to feel pain.
I’m starting to think my presence wasn’t what awakened the skeletons, at least directly. Based on what I’m seeing across my spore field, the skeletons are attempting to defend this dungeon. That doesn’t answer why I was targeted and captured or who the miners are. Normally in fiction, dungeons are microdomains that simply exist for combat, but the fact there is mining indicates that definition is, at the very least, incomplete, if not entirely incorrect.
Passing the area where the miners were, I could see their spore speckled shapes standing at the ready. It seems they were allied with the skeletons or on neutral terms. There weren’t enough spores for me to tell much beyond the fact that these humanoids were stockier than the skeletons. Something different, but I can’t say what. Not yet anyway.
Passing through the mine section, I tried once again to escape. The grip of this skeleton was so firm that there was nothing I could do. Curses. Fifty years spent in this world and I’m still so weak as to be helpless against one of the weakest dungeon mobs. To be fair I spent most of that time in mediation but still! Time should count for something.
Approaching the unseen area, I began to send spores out again. If I was trapped, I might as well do what I can to increase my odds in any small way. It was then that I noticed that the skeleton’s face wasn’t still. Its jaw was moving. Almost like it was talking. Crap, has it been trying to talk to me this whole time? I have no way to understand and listen though.
Actually, perhaps I do. I activated Echo Mimicry and began to try and see if it could replay the sounds in my mind rather than vocally. I could feel the vibrations leaving my body but I had no clue what they sounded like.
I had time. Might as well keep trying to experiment. I just wish I had ears of some kind. I kept trying to repeat what I had heard, hoping that I would adjust to the sounds. The skeleton eventually stopped moving its jaw and just kept carrying me. I continued trying to decipher what I had heard.
Moving deeper into the mines, I found they traveled for about 100 meters deeper than I had explored. There also seemed to be side passages but the skeleton seemed to know where to go. Based on the distance, it’s impossible that I woke these defenders up. It must have been an early warning system. Why was I found and taken? I just don’t understand how all these things line up.
Finally I found my spores couldn’t reach the side walls anymore. I seem to have been brought into a cavern of some kind. The skeleton moved forward for a few meters before stopping. Strangely, my spores seemed to hit something in front of us but couldn’t attach. A shield of some kind. My Mana Sense began to illuminate like crazy however. At first there were only faint green signatures, but suddenly a deep purple and green source appeared before my eyes. The shield must have been dropped as my spores started to settle on the figure as well. I could see it was a skeleton based on the mana shape but my spores showed me a robed figure.
My memory of game tropes and lore immediately began to start ringing warning bells, crying that this creature was one of the most feared necromantic beings in fantasy. It posed a massive danger to not only me but all of the civilized world. The fervor pitched memory seemed to scream out “Lich!”
“Indeed. How astute.” A voice clear and soft rang through my mind.
I can’t quite explain the dread I felt. Intuitively I knew there was nothing I could do against this arcane master, my paltry skills would do nothing.
As I just remained motionless, paralyzed, I remembered where I felt this before. This is the soft breath of death. The quiet yet palpable sensation of the cold dark night waiting to claim its next victim. Even my soul and mind stilled as if waiting for the end to come.
“It seems you were not able to understand my agent. Allow me to explain it to you.” The voice was slow and patient but the threat and danger were clear as day.
“I am Nixhor, servant of the Lord of Dusk. You are the ██████ of this world.”
“How you came to be here, I cannot say, but it must be counted as divine fortune.”
“We have been granted no time to converse. Instead, allow me to grant you a gift.”
I couldn’t even find the courage to have thoughts to respond. The sheer weight of that feeling of death held me in a trance.
Suddenly I saw the dead mage before me begin to move its hands, a spell likely. I saw mana forming, blue and pure, which seemed out of place. Then I found myself in a sort of trance. Almost like the State of Preservation, my skills felt locked.
I wanted to panic, fight, scream, anything, but what can a stone do? I was helpless. I don’t know if I could trust this person but I had no choice. I was unable to resist. Liches were notorious for being evil and cruel so I feared the worst.
“You are weak still. Grow young one.”
I could feel my spores showing the adventurers traveling down to the mines but couldn’t take my attention away from this threat in front of me.
My spores were slowly fading, my vision was going away. The Lich, Nixhor, had taken me and was carrying me to another room. I had no way to see anymore. All that was clear was the ghostly green and purple form staring down at me. The mana that pooled in the eye sockets felt as if they were scanning every part of my soul.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
I had never felt so weak and exposed. If I could, I probably would have cried out of the sheer despair I felt. Despite the words spoken, the aura of this being prevented me from being trusting or comforted.
[The World Devourer Bataral has been released into Fiáin.]
Another red notification.
“It seems your foe has escaped already. I did my best to ensure the heroes found it before us. It has gained many powers already during this time, you will have a difficult time.” The soft voice entered my mind again causing my soul to shiver in revulsion. This creature was unnatural to life itself.
I was finally set in a pile of scraps of material. A meter or so above me a gray mana source dimly shown. I had no control over my skills so slowly they all began to be pulled in and assimilated.
“Farewell. I have done my part in the Great Lord’s scheme.”
[Merged with 15 Necrotic Mana Shards. Size Increased. Reincarnator has leveled up.]
[Skill Spore Propagation became Death Field. Active. Release a cloud of necrotic spores that can settle on surfaces within 2 meters and grow, creating a network of mold. The spores increase vision of physical objects, detect movement, and accelerate decay. Creatures in direct contact with these spores are slowed by 30%, natural healing is reduced by 10%, and all living creature’s stats are reduced by 1%.]
[Merged with 21 Mithril Scraps. Size Increased.]
[Skill Iron Shell and Silt Camouflage became Mithril Shell. Active. Gain a hardened exterior similar to mithril, increasing physical defense by 100%, boosting physical attack power by 50%, and improving the effectiveness of mana-based abilities and spells by 5%. When stationary, stealth is increased by 50%.]
[Merged with 7 Void Shards. Size Increased. Reincarnator has leveled up.]
[Skill Acquired - Void Storage. Active. Store up to 1 cubic meter of materials or objects in a small, personal extradimensional space.]
[Merged with 37 Steel Scraps. Size Increased. Reincarnator has leveled up.]
[Skills Dust Manipulation and Magnetic Body became Particle Manipulation. Active. Exert a force on and control particles smaller than 1 mm to form barriers, simple constructs, or directed attacks. Damage, durability, and duration are dependent on materials used.]
[Merged with 52 Mana Shards. Size Increased. Reincarnator has leveled up.]
[Skill Mana Sense became Mana Sight. Passive. Clearly see mana and mana sources within 2 meters.]
Did the Lich mean what it said? After setting me down, it walked back towards where the adventurers were headed. My spores on its robe haven’t faded just yet and I can see what looks like combat. Then a moment later, the mana of Nixhor’s body begins to dissipate while six yellow mana sources begin to approach my location.
Are these adventurers going to view me as a threat? It looks like they are running towards me, why? I’m a spherical stone. I don’t get why I’m so special.
[Merged with 1 Dungeon Core. Size Increased. Reincarnator has leveled up.]
Oh. I hadn’t been paying attention to the mana source above me. Shoot, maybe that’s why. The dungeon core floods my body with its gray mana and I find that I’m quickly overwhelmed. Just before falling unconscious, I can see the yellow figures slowing and approaching me cautiously now. This can't be good. What did that Lich do to me? Some gift…
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Reincarnator: Ja̶ʍҽʂ Ha̶ʅvҽʀʂoɳ
Form: Stone of Adaptation LVL 8
Size: 1.0 m
Next Level: 3 m
Skills
Reincarnator's Blessing II. Passive. Increase size gain by 10%. Increase luck by 2. Improve relevance of skills upon leveling up.
Advanced Assimilation. Passive. Upon direct contact with objects of similar or lesser size, the material or biological organism will be assimilated into the main body. Assimilating a material gains its properties or one skill for up to 30 minutes. Can store up to 3 different properties or skills at once.
Particle Manipulation. Active. Exert a force on and control particles smaller than 1 mm to form barriers, simple constructs, or directed attacks. Damage, durability, and duration are dependent on materials used.
Regenerative Structure. Passive. Forms a barrier around the core preventing undesired particles from being assimilated. Blocked particles will slowly regenerate 1% of damage every 10 minutes. Bone particles are twice as effective.
Death Field. Active. Release a cloud of necrotic spores that can settle on surfaces within 2 meters and grow, creating a network of mold. The spores increase vision of physical objects, detect movement, and accelerate decay. Creatures in direct contact with these spores are slowed by 30%, natural healing is reduced by 10%, and all living creature’s stats are reduced by 1%.
Roll. Active. Movement by rolling at a speed of 1/5th size per second.
Written in Stone. Active. Store up to 15 memories in the core that are available for access by Reincarnator at any time.
Mithril Shell. Active. Gain a hardened exterior similar to mithril, increasing physical defense by 100%, boosting physical attack power by 50%, and improving the effectiveness of mana-based abilities and spells by 5%. When stationary, stealth is increased by 50%.
Mana Sight. Passive. Clearly see mana and mana sources within 2 meters.
Echo Mimicry. Active. Reproduce sounds or vibrations that have been recorded within 1 meter of the Reincarnator. Sound reproductions are centered on the Reincarnator.
Void Storage. Active. Store up to 1 cubic meter of materials or objects in a small, personal extradimensional space.