Short answer? No. It didn’t work. It appeared to only work on the Prime Mind. However, while his Prime Mind was meditating, his Second Mind could still cast other magic, such as [Necrotic Bolt]. Or, he could cast [Necrotic Bolt] with both minds, launching four bolts. Alaster imagined that even mid-Level Adepts would be wary of such an attack, at least while unarmored.
However, while he was experimenting with other sorts of magic he could use with his Second Mind, he noticed that some were ready to Evolve.
[Bone Crafting
Level 9<11: 74%<12%
Ability to mold bone as if clay
Mana Cost: 5/min
Evolution Available]
This was the Ability that had the most utility. He was excited for what would his choices could be.
[Bone Crafting Evolution
1. Can create blueprints of creations
2. Can create more intricate creations
3. Can better manipulate the qualities of the Bone]
Alaster was impressed. Watching his Second Mind create the armor pieces, he was tempted to choose the blueprint. He could create another shelter, have it saved as a blueprint, and then simply dismantle it whenever he moved and recreate it whenever he stopped for the night. This would allow him to create a larger shelter. But he didn’t need a larger shelter than the one he had previously made, and planned to recreate. However, the blueprints would also make it much easier to create armor for the Horde Skeletons.
But if he chose the third option, he knew he could create actual weapons for the Horde Skeletons. They wouldn’t be strong weapons, and would break quite often, but they would be strong enough to be useable in battles. He could feel that he was on the edge, and that Evolution would be enough to make it work.
The second option would expand the uses he had for the Ability. Potentially allowing him to create mechanisms with Bone. Hinges, pulleys, maybe even keys. That last option made him chuckle to himself.
In the end, however, He chose the third option. While the second option would be interesting to work with. It wouldn’t really assist his survival, at least not at the moment. And while the first option would greatly improve his crafting speed, he had the time to manually create them when he found a safe place. Especially with the Second Mind.
The Third option was the best in Alaster’s opinion. Not only would it allow him to create weapons out of bone, allowing him to make a weapon better suited to a certain situation. But it would also make his Skeletons stronger, at least the ones his modified.
[Skeleton Creation] and [Bone Crafting] were both used whenever Alaster modified the bone of an active Skeleton. While he had been changing the bones of the Horde Skeletons to have blades on their wrists, only [Bone Crafting] had been needed. But if he tried to change the Black Guards or Night Children, who were active, both Abilities would be necessary.
Alaster ordered one of the Black Guards closer, where he quickly got to work changing the bones. As the Evolution had stated, Alaster’s control over the bone’s qualities had improved. Which, allowed him to make the Black Guard’s bones stronger and heavier, which also made them darker. Gradually, the Black Guard became a shade darker.
Now, Alaster was certain that the Black Guard could take a direct blow from a Bug Bear. At least one of the weaker ones. The only reason the Goblin Skeleton had survived when the Bug Bear had battered it away was because it had jumped away at the last moment, and because the snow had served as a buffer. But Alaster was now sure that the Black Guard could take the blow, and remain standing.
The Black Guard, whose bones and armor were still not quite black, but instead very dark gray, stepped back. Allowing the second Black Guard to step forward. Alaster could have sworn that it was excited. It didn’t very long before both Black Guards were much sturdier. However, they weren’t stronger. [Bone Crafting] only affected the Bones, not the Mana Veins, which directly effected the strength of the Skeleton Minion.
If Alaster wanted to make his Minions stronger, which he certainly did, he would have to improve either [Mana Manipulation], [Skeleton Creation], or [Raise Undead]. Each of them would allow Alaster to improve the Mana Veins, each to a different degree. However, Alaster was wondering if the bones wouldn’t soon be reaching a point where he couldn’t improve them anymore.
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The way the bones became stronger was that Alaster would fill them with Mana, making them denser. The bones becoming darker was a side effect of his mana filling every part, discoloring them. However, he could not imagine that the bones could simply take in an unlimited amount. Sure, the current amount of Mana he could pump in was limited by his abilities and practice. But eventually those abilities would reach very high levels.
Theoretically, to Alaster’s knowledge, there was no max level for Abilities. An Ability could reach a high enough level that the Ability itself would Evolve, not just an aspect of it. This generally meant that Ability would become stronger, usually more specialized, but sometimes becoming more generalized. But it could still level up.
So, in theory, Alaster could gradually become capable of controlling a nearly endless amount of Mana. But bones weren’t exactly the best container of Mana. There was a very good reason that Enchanters used more gems, precious metals, and crystals. While Gold was horrible at containing Mana, it was excellent at conducting it, moving it from one place to another. Gems were excellent at holding Mana, especially if the Mana within matched the Gem itself.
For example, while all gems were capable of holding an impressive amount of Mana, if it was Fire Mana, it could hold many multitudes more. But while Gems were great at containing Mana, it was extremely difficult to impose commands on them. Which is where Crystals came in. Crystals allowed Mana to pass through it almost entirely without interference, but it was because of this aspect, that allowed Enchanters to inscribe the Enchantment.
The Mana would flow from the Gem, through the metal, typically Gold or Silver, into the Crystal, where it would configured by the Enchanters inscriptions. These Enchantments could be nearly anything. From an active spell like Fireball, to a passive spell like an Aura. But one of the most common uses was to improve Stats, any of them.
Colius, Alaster’s tutor while he resided in Onigas, had several Enchanted gear that increased his Mana Pool because so many of his spells required so much Mana. But a more battle oriented Mage might prefer Enchantments that improved Mana Regeneration. Anyone could use Enchantments, whether they were a Mage or not, which is just one reason they are so desired.
In a battle, it only took a single Enchantment, used at the right moment, to end it. An Enchantment could allow someone to challenge someone much stronger than them. Unfortunately, Enchantments were very finicky. While anyone could Enchant, even someone with an Enchanter Class needed to study for years before they even began to put their knowledge into practice. Even simple Enchantments could take an entire week to create.
Entire Nations had fallen or risen depending on their Enchanters, or lack thereof. Every Nation carefully regulated and protected their Enchanters. Even simple Enchantments could bankrupt a family. Currently, Alaster desperately wanted an Enchantment to improve his Mana Regeneration. While such Enchantments were pretty common, due to their demand, even a weak one would cost several Gold.
However, while the vast majority of Enchantments were created by modern Enchanters. The strongest were always found in Dungeons.
Dungeons were… well, Alaster didn’t really know what they were. Not even Colius knew, if anyone, at least truly knew. They knew that Dungeons were wells of Natural Mana. Natural Mana being Mana generated by the world itself. The Mana would condense, and then somehow create its own pocket dimension. One similar to Bags or Rings of Holding in only the vaguest sense.
People had been experimenting with them for as long as the history books detailed. They had even tried to create their own through the same process. But they were obviously missing something, as it never worked. No one really knew how the Dungeons worked. But everyone knew about them, and the riches one could get from them.
Dungeons were pocket dimensions. They operated on their own rules and laws. They were typically put into one of three categories. Instanced, where every group would enter their own experience. The Dungeon was the same for every group that entered, but the ‘world’ would only unique to them. No other group could enter, or interfere. If they did enter the Dungeon, they would enter their own Instance.
The second category was Public. Meaning that every group that entered would enter the same ‘world’ and be able to help, or hinder, each other. These Dungeons were usually much larger and the Monsters and Loot that would spawn at random times at random areas. Whereas the Instanced Dungeons would never respawn anything. Once something was dead or destroyed, it would stay like that until the group left. If they entered again, everything would be just as it was when they entered it the first time, expect that the loot and Monsters would randomize through the Dungeon.
The Final category was Raid. A Raid was almost always much more difficult than any other Dungeon, but the potential Loot reflected that, prompting many more people to challenge it, despite the much higher chance of death. Raids operated on a calendar or timer. Either only being open for a few days out of a month, year, or even decade, or being available once the timer reset.
Every Raid was technically Instanced, but while the theme of the Dungeon would remain the same, the ‘history’ would be completely different. Once the Dungeon began, there was no escape unless it was completed. While the other two types of Dungeons could be exited early through either the door, or special areas throughout them, Raids were locked. Those who entered, either died, or succeeded.
One Raid could require the Challengers to defeat one massive enemy, or that same Dungeon, just a different Raid, could require them to defeat a vast army. Each Dungeon had its own history, its own lore. But in Raids, it was an entire world, and some requirements for completing the Raid could be to help save the Kingdom within the Raid from a plague. However, most Raids were simply, ‘kill this or that’.
Each Raid, once entered, would notify the Challengers with their objective, as well as a reward if they succeeded. However, they could get more rewards depending on their actions within the Dungeon. No other type of Dungeon did that. For Instanced or Public, whatever you found was what you got.
Due to the nature of their creation, Dungeons could form anywhere. Most settlements formed around Dungeons. Onigas had been settled over a Raid Dungeon, however its restrictions had been fairly limiting, so only those aligned with the City were allowed to enter. The Nation of Lissura had used a very powerful Raid Dungeon as its foundation.
As Alaster warmed his hands over the fire, he decided he would find a Dungeon. Preferably an Instanced one. If he searched long enough, he was certain he could find one. Whether he could actually fight the Monsters within, was much less certain.