The stones have changed! The King took a dark pebble into his hand and rolled it between his fingers. These were Dark Spirit Stones; his pet Darkness had somehow turned Fire/Nature Spirit Stones into something entirely different.
“Is this some sort of equivalent exchange?”
*Sob “Don’t feed me to Johny.”
No, he won’t do that. “Darkness, I didn’t know you could do that. This is amazing!”
The quiet sobbing stopped. “Really?”
“Yes. Dark stones are very rare. When I looked into it, Vumbeldor said that none is being sold in any of the Human Kingdoms. So yeah, you being able to make them just like that is… Amazing!”
“Yes, meow! Darkness is amazing!” The shadowy slime jiggled excitedly.
“Meow?” The wyrmling looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yes! It's all thanks to me, meow. Without me, Darkness wouldn’t have found these pebbles. Meow, praise me too!”
He glared at the wyrmling. “I think it's time for you to get back to your job.” Which was supervising the digging of the Oberon Mega Tunnel.
“But it’s boring, meow!”
He glared at the rebellious wyrmling yet again. The familiar had promised to see that task through!
“Meow… Okay.”
“See it done, then I will praise you. And maybe there will be a reward as well.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
Anyway, he let his pets off with a small scolding. After all, there was no point in staying angry with children. The interruption was soon forgotten, and he’ll hand in the changed stones to the Drow for research at a later time. There were more important things he still had to do; he rushed to replenish the depleted stores of Slug Jelly.
…
The MegaFarm returned to its idyllic nature. Spiders were growing the TomGrape and the squirrels were frolicking around; it was as it should be. Albeit, the place was not the same, after all this was not The Dreaded Place, this was The Monster Realm. The most obvious change was the Dark infused rain which doused the land now and then. Neither plants nor spiders seemed to mind it, in big part thanks to Acclimate. And most of the other denizens like Drow and Lamia were able to shrug it off with no problem. But not everyone was so lucky, the Centauri complained of minor stamina debuff, but the worst affected were the humans. Their bodies rejected the Dark mana, and from continued exposure, they would get sick. But as long as they used an Umbrella and didn’t drink that water all was fine.
The nature of the rain itself remained a small conundrum. Both Drow and Spiders had no conclusive theory as to why it started raining. But the popular guess was that it was related to the defeat of Darkness and the fact that without a constant Drain the mana now was able to flow through the jungle unabsorbed. As to why it was of Dark affinity, well maybe the King himself was to blame, who knows.
Even if unaffected by the rain, Johny wasn’t a big fan of it since it washed off her precious mucus. So, a small shed was erected both to protect Johny and to thank for her continuous service. The she shed wasn’t shabby in any way, it was the opposite. No, to call it a shed was a mistake because it was more like a gazebo and it was a marvel of spider architecture and ingenuity. Natural materials like IronOak wood, Blue Rope, and triangular leaves of PurpleM were incorporated in a flowing and web-like spidery design. Each part was meticulously carved by spiders giving the whole structure that artistic touch of Spidery Magnificent.
The small rain droplets were falling on the purple triangular plates making sounds, for whatever reason it was rather melodic and not that dull pitter-patter of the rain. The droplets were like hammers on the plates of the xylophone, when struck the leaves covering the roof chimed a note. Surprisingly despite the chaotic nature of the rain, the chimes formed smooth harmonics. So then it rained the gazebo would start a Song of Rain, and arguably it was rather good.
The King was idly listening to the melody while leaning on a carved IronOak pillar. Johny was in the middle of the gazebo and munching contently on the petals of DustyBlue.
“The rain is washing all the dust off the flowers. I won’t be able to harvest as much dust as before.”
“Not That It Matters. The Petals And Leaves Are Enough To Make Jelly.” Johny said between the bites.
“Yeah, but the dust is important. If not for it we wouldn’t have defeated the Darkness. And spiders use it to make Blue Cloth.”
Johny gazed at the King meaningfully. “Just Mutate It. Simple.”
“But, won’t this make it inedible for you?”
“We’ll See.”
Johny didn’t seem too concerned.
“I guess you're right. If it doesn’t work out and I end up making something nasty we can just destroy the plant.”
“Precisely. Now, Milk Me. I Am About To Burst!”
He did his farmer duty and then went to find a volunteer.
“Congratulations. You’ve won a mutation!” He announced with pretend fanfare. “[Mutate],[Imbue],[Reinforce].” He tried draining a significant amount of his mana. According to his Status, it dipped by a whole thousand, 4500MP>3500MP. Yeah, it kind of made sense why he would feel like dying sometimes when using the perk. But hey, now he had plenty of MP all thanks to the Monster System and its broken Achievements.
The plant began to change and he even had a White Sprigan to cast [Grow] on it for good measure. With the Mutate perk, he had a limited ability to guide the changes in his preferred direction. What he wanted was to change the plant so that it kept the dust inside so it wouldn’t be washed by the rain. The DustyBlue continued to change, its stalk grew tall and thick and then it began branching, no doubt this was because of the Reinforce. Blue buds budded on the branches all over, inside were the beginnings of the petals. This was the important part, he had to make it so that the rain wouldn’t get inside and wash off all the dust. Well, he tried but the plant also had ideas and will of it’s own. The buds matured releasing the petals, the petals curled forming a sphere and then they hardened solid. And that was it, it stopped mutating.
King stood in front of a short tree with a tick trunk, it was rather small so it was hard to decide if it was a tree or a bush; it vaguely resembled an olive tree. Its thick trunk was porcelain white, much like IronOak. It had tiny blue leaves, and instead of small olives, it had golf-sized petal balls. Presumably, the petal balls were filled with Blue Dust.
“Success?” He plucked a petal ball off the tree. The petals were sturdy and able to maintain their shape but it didn’t take much effort to make them crumble and release the accumulated dust inside.
“It is!” He cheered shaking the dust of his palm. “With this, they can now be collected.” Meaning that if the spiders were careful they could harvest the tree for its petal balls. “And for the name…” Well, proper names were difficult. “I name you… PetalBall.”
[Monster System recognised your entry. ‘Plant_Designation:MR91142069!’ was renamed to ‘PetalBall’]
“Sweet!” He cheered again. “Now, it needs a taste test.” He carefully gathered a bunch of petal balls and went back to the gazebo.
“Here, my new invention.” He offered a petal ball. “Tell me if they’re any good.”
Johny took the ball and brought it to her narrow mouth and then bit into it. The petal ball exploded into a cloud of dust.
*Caugh, *Caugh – both of them coughed. It was good that they had immunity, a normal human would probably have died…
“Sorry, I should have warned.”
Johny unbothered by the cloud finished chewing on the petals, swallowed and spoke, “Yeah, This Is Pretty Much The Same. Maybe A bit Tougher But Just As Sweet.”
“So, it’s still good for jelly?”
Johny nodded vigorously jiggling her slug body.
“Marvellous. From now on the spiders will be able to help me with the harvest.”
“Ah, King?” Johny began with a tinge of worry. “Don’t Get Rid Of DustyBlue Flowers. I Find Them Beautiful.”
“Of course not, we will keep some of them around.”
Once again Johny nodded vigorously.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Now, Milk Me. I Am About To Burst!”
Yeah, Johny was a productive Lesser Eldrich monster and very keen to contribute to the Spider Cause. As it was, the spiders were depositing the Quality +2 jelly into small Scorpion Glass containers and shipping them off for export. Each container had at best a spoonful of jelly, but even then, the asking price was exorbitant. The stuff was obviously good and meant only for the wealthy and high-ranking members of society. The intelligence gathering operation was just beginning…
Aside from jelly-related matters, the PetalBall, or to be more precise its dust (Blue Dust) was also used for the aforementioned manufacturing of Blue Cloth.
The King had finished his farmer's duty once again and now he was standing above a huge vat of water. He was here because Blue Dust was a crafting ingredient in many things, anywhere from cloth to ink. In one way or another, the dust had to be dissolved in water. And the Dark infused rain was not the problem by itself, it just made the dust collection harder. So he was here to test some things.
“Let's see if it has any adverse effects.” He dumped a large amount of dust into the vat.
The dark-tinted water predictably turned blue but in a slightly darker shade. Then he dumped all the cloth and left it to soak up the dye. Once dying and the drying was done, he collected the colth and did the obvious.
“[Inspect]”
[Blue Cloth: An item made out of magic-resistant StemLeaf and enchanted with the dust of PettalBall giving it a signature blue colour. The cloth is further infused with the Dark element. Possible passive effects: [Magic Resistance], [Dirt Resistance], [Dark Infused].
“Hmm, it looks much the same. Only Dark Infused is new. [Inspect].”
[Dark Infused: increased affinity to Dark element]
“So only a minor effect. But I’ll take it!” He smiled while rolling the cloth. “Let’s see how it interacts with Dark enchantments.” Mentally he checked his Magical Inventory concentrating at the part holding the Dark Spirit Stones. “I have just enough for some tests.”
…
In a rather dark study, illuminated only by the Dark Flame, the King and The Drow Assistant were hunched over the table. The naturally pale face of the Drow was beaded with small droplets of sweat; she was visibly exerted. The wooden table was vibrating ever so slightly. The two were experiencing an intense moment.
> “I can’t do it! It won’t go in.” She protested with distress.
> “You should be able to.” He encouraged.
> “No. Mine is only a fraction of your size.”
> “Nah, yours big enough. I’ve measured it.”
> “Huh! It’s just not going in. Too much resistance.”
> “Push it through. Force it if you must.”
> “I… I’ll…”
> “Look, it’s definitely going in.”
> “Egh.”
> “I can see purple. Keep going!
> “Ah!”
> “A bit more!
The Drow Assistant collapsed on the table drained.
> “Well done!”
> “Is it? Is it finished?”
> “[Inspect].”
> *Breathes out tiredly, “[Inspect].”
Item: Shroud of The Spider Shadow
Quality: Superior
Bonuses
+50MP, +10 Spider Rep
Active Perks
[Shadow Shroud]
Passive Perks
[Spell Deflection]
Resistances
[Dark Resistance: Medium], [Dirt Resistance], [Reinforced]
> ”Oh, it dropped a grade in Quality.”
> ”I’m sorry about that.”
> ”No, it’s fine. You did well. I’m very proud.”
> ”Without my unique perk, Mana Well, this would be impossible. I’m completely out of mana.”
> ”Do not underestimate yourself. You have that, what was it, Elemental Affinity.”
> ”Yes I do, and I’m glad I do because without the two I couldn’t do it.” *Sigh. “I’m glad this is over.”
> “Who said this is over? I reckon we can squeeze another one.”
> “I don’t think it can fit.”
> “I know it will. Here, these should help”
> *Gulp *Gulp
> “Let’s make it fun.”
> “…?”
> “Binding Web sounds good, just the right amount of restriction.”
> “Yeah, I like those types of spells.”
> “So, let’s get going. Here another stone, now, show me what you got!”
> “[Imbue], [Binding Web]… Urgh!”
> “No, we’ve just started!”
> “There is already one! A number two won’t fit!”
> “Says who!?”
> “It’s draining too fast.”
> “Here.”
> *Gulp *Gulp “Urgh… Too… Much… Resistance.”
> “You can do it, I believe in you!”
> “It… HURTS!”
> “It’s glowing! Just a bit more.”
> “Ah!”
The Drow Assistant collapsed on the table drained.
> “[Inspect]. It worked! I told you there is space for two. Oh, but there is now Unstable passive.”
> “Help…” She whispered meekly. “Too much Toxicity.”
> “Oh! I know what we can do next. Let’s test the active perks.”
> “…”
> “What are you laying there for all limp? Put it on already.”
> “Urgh…”
…
The combination of Dark Infused and Dark Spirit Stones was a splendid one. It was now possible to infuse the Blue Cloth items with Dark spells and active perks. Of course, an individual who already knew those spells had no use of Shroud of The Spider Shadow. However, non-Dark mages and even non-mages could benefit greatly from an increased arsenal of abilities. Well as it was now, activating an active perk still required mana, but the King was working on a solution for that too. It would be nice if the items could hold a mana charge and thus power the spells. He had a hunch a Spider Crystal was a key needed to solve that challenge.
“It’s time to visit the Kobolds and say hello to the Crystal Spider.”
“SSS? You going to the Kobolds?” A wild lamia appeared from nowhere and asked.
“Eek! You scared me, don’t ambush me like that.”
“S-s-s.“ The Lamia Queen laughed. “Sss-somehow I think that Lamia Camouflage is better, sss, than your Shadow Shroud.”
That wasn’t true! And there was no way to Imbue that into equipment, unless…
“Hey, sss, what happened to her?” She lifted a limp drow’s arm and then promptly let it go with a plop.
“She passed out.”
“And why are her clothes all in taters?” She poked her hand through a rather large hole.
“Unstable perk.”
“I sss-see…” she looked at him questioningly. “Since you are going there, sss, get some IceShard Bird Meat. Everyone is bored of sss-squirrel meat.”
And that everyone was only Lamia, since Centauri were vegetarian, Sprigans didn’t eat and the spiders were tomgrapetarian.
“I’ll see what I can do. But I have a question. No, I need something. Can I get your skin shedding? The whole lot?”
“You what!?” Her face flushed red.
“You know, for Camouflage perk.”
“I don’t do that! SSS!”
Nope, he was positive all Lamia did that.
“Are you embarrassed or something?”
“Of course, sss! Why would you even ask that of a lady? You brute!”
“Jee! Forget it… I’ll get you the meat.”
It was unfortunate, Lamia Queen Shedding sounded like a high-quality crafting ingredient.
“It's like me, sss, collecting the hairs you leave on the pillow, sss, and keeping them hidden in a big jar of scorpion glass, sss, which I do not do! No, no, no.”
“I get it, I get it. I won’t ask.”
“Well, sss. If you asked nicely…” She was blushing even more. “I could maybe give you a sss-scale or two. You could keep it in your pocket or sss-something.”
“No, that wouldn’t work I need a whole thing. To make armour or something.”
“SSS! You want, sss, to wear me, sss?”
This conversation was taking a very strange turn.
“Am… we’ll talk about this later. I’m off to the Kobolds.”
“Sss… Okay.”
“[Shadow Walk]” He disappeared leaving only trailing wisps of a shadow.
“What do I do with you, sss?” She poked at the passed-out drow.