As a whole, the animals of the human plains suffered. Wild beasts and domesticated draft alike hid desperately from the swarm. A few managed — through sheer luck or happenstance — to survive by delving into the less dangerous upper floors of open dungeons. The rest, however, succumbed in droves.
It couldn’t even be said that the insects themselves enjoyed themselves. Their lives were short, and their stunted minds were constantly under the duress of senseless hunger. Those that managed to sate their that unnatural drive soon found themselves facing searing flames or unforgiving blades.
Indeed. It was fair to say that the majority of the animals in the plains did not enjoy the coming of the black plague.
Except, there was one group of entities that beheld the apocalypse with an emotion that might be akin to hope. Such thoughts didn’t truly exist for such creatures. After all, forces of nature do not possess minds nor desire thoughts. They were embodiments of will from birth to death. Created from the stray thoughts of the living, and persisting through remembered fragments.
One such creature was born into existence for the first time at the heart of an oceanic reef. Its body was formless, yet distinct. A ripple of water in water that cared little for the mundanities of limited form. It had no name and needed no such labels, yet those of the human plains would label it regardless. Tidebringer, children would point in wonder. Tidebringer, fishermen would say in relief. Tidebringer, the mages would intone with greed.
The Tidebringer danced in the water, reveling for the first time in the feeling of the ebb and flow of the currents. Its body split and reformed as it examined the world around it. Corals spread into the distance, and the dappled sunshine created endless ripples upon the distant surface. It was beautiful, and yet, lacking. The young Tidebringer couldn’t help but be disappointed.
Where was the life?
A ripple of quaking earth shook the ground, and the Tidebringer paused in surprise. This was good. This was fun. But...it wasn’t the Tidebringer’s type of fun. The earth danced, but its movements were too dull to excite the waves to swell. At that moment, the Tidebringer understood what was missing and, in the flavor of the recent earthquake, it understood what could fill the void in its soul.
It spun an inquisitive spiral in the waves. Tasting the waters and feeling for power in the distance. Many weak souls it ignored, and it almost rushed to the first few mediocre souls it detected. Something held it back. Bid it to wait, and before it could settle for mediocre, it spotted six powerful souls.
In an instant, it gathered its meager might and rushed toward the souls. Currents gathered to aid its passage, and a small storm was birthed by its excitement. A marvelous moment. As sweet as it was short-lived.
Before too long, the Tidebringer came upon the land and the source of the powerful souls. It traversed polluted waters and risked the wrath of the sky for a chance at meeting the powerful six. It leaped. Alien hope blossomed in its soul as it entered a dark abode w—
An iron gauntlet splattered filthy water across the cool tiles of a bathroom as the owner of the disdainful gauntlet straightened with a fearsome scowl.
“Oi! How many times do I have to remind you people to leave the toilet seat down after you use it?”
“Sorry A,” four other voices parroted to appease the man in bored tones. They used his moniker, rather than his name despite the impossibility of spies breaching their shielded chamber.
They sat in an opulent lounge that would be fit for any king in the world. Rich furnishings made of rare or unique materials filled the room. Not an inch of the walls lacked some kind of trophy or ornamentation. Some of which reeked of a time long past. The only strange aspect of the room was the complete lack of windows. That and perhaps the strange construction that dictated the room be lined in thick plates of solid steel, rather than the more traditional stone.
All manner of entertainment filled the room. One corner contained several floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that were actively being perused by a stunning brunette. In another corner, two men and a woman were huddled around a card game of sorts. They were all gorgeous in their own right, with an ageless quality that masked their age. Each was free of any flaws or the loose flab that collected as the years passed.
Despite their prompt response to A’s question, they all soon returned to their own preoccupations. That was, all but the sixth member who was the only one who failed to respond to A’s rebuke. She was a waifish girl, wearing an overly large shirt that hung low to reveal a sharp collarbone. Unlike the others who spent their time in idle entertainment, she chose to dedicate herself to hunching over a large crystalline gem anchored to a stone plinth by several black chains.
Her eyes were shut tight as her spider-like fingers caressed the Dungeon Core. There was an obsession with her touch. At no point did she break contact with the crystal. To those with metaphysical sight, it was clear that more than mere touch was shared between the girl and the sentient crystal.
“D?” A asked sweetly, towering over her. “Did you hear what I said?”
“Shhh!” D whisper-hissed, not deigning to open her eyes. “I’m so close to a level.”
A shockwave strong enough to crack stone burst through the room as A slapped D in the cheek. Every spirit of nature in miles shuddered as they sensed the detonation of power, but there were only disgruntled shouts within the room.
“My books!”
“Hold the cards down!”
“What did we say about slapping!”
The occupants scrambled to mitigate the collateral damage, but the actual recipient of the blow barely budged. Despite the massive difference in size and the obvious power of the blow, it was as if he had barely touched her. Slowly, as if she had barely felt the concussive attack, D opened one eye and blinked owlishly up at A.
“Hmm?” she murmured.
“I’m so glad you volunteered for bathroom cleanup duty!”
“Huh?” D blinked, glancing at the filthy bathroom. “Hey! Who left the toilet seat up?”
The aggrieved complaints by the others quieted as they shot each other accusing glances. Before the argument could escalate, a small blue communication smooshed between two couch cushions buzzed.
Urgent report.
A held up a fist to silence the others and picked up the crystal in his gauntlet-clad fist. “Go on.”
The eastern border is under attack by a swarm of black insects. Krimta, Penrith, and Tellet are all under siege, with Krimta close to falling. It is estimated that Luton and Ortega will be attacked within two days. In addition, a slave rebellion is imminent and there are whispers of a new Goddess who is fueling the dissent. Please advise.
One of the burly men playing cards dropped his hand and perked up with a sly grin. “It's been too long! What level are the insects? High enough to bring out the Black Brigade?”
The insects are all level 1, my lord.
“Bah,” the burly man turned away, obviously disappointed.
“How is Krimta close to falling? What happened to the City Aegis?” A hefted the communication crystal.
There are tier-five lightning attacks destabilizing the defense. It is believed to be coordinated monster attacks coming from a dungeon to the east.
“Someone else has captured a dungeon core...” the brunette beside the bookshelves murmured. The others shot each other glances, and D opened her eyes to pay attention for once.
“What’s the problem then,” A frowned down at the crystal. “Are the Guard incapable of repelling this minor incursion?”
Ah...no, my lord. But, uh. We were actually hoping you could...assist. To save lives of course.
“Nuh, uh. No way.” D interrupted. She closed her eyes and resumed her focus on the Dungeon Core. “We are less than three months away from tier 12. No way we are leaving now.”
A glanced at D, then raised the crystal again. “We will send seven Inquisitors to assist in protecting Krimta from the Dungeon’s attacks. Deal with the insects yourself. You should be able to handle any number of tier 1s yourself.
Ahh, thank you, my lord.
A tossed the thing carelessly back into a gap in the couch’s cushions, and after a moment the crystal went dark. He stood there for a second, then turned to the rest.
“Well?”
“I’m staying right here,” D mumbled stubbornly.
“It would be foolish to leave a tier five dungeon uncaptured. It would speed up future levels by—”
“3.2%,” the bookish brunette said quietly.
“—3.2%. Thank you, B.”
“Detaching and dealing with this problem would delay our ascension by another month,” D interjected. “Let’s just tier up, and then go capture the new dungeon.”
“How much would leaving the dungeon uncaptured delay the next tier, B?” A said.
“Nearly 29 years, if it has average mana production.”
“Then it's decided,” A clapped his hands, careful not to generate a shockwave in the process. “D, reconfigure the crystal for dungeon capture and we’ll stay here for another few months. Who knows. We might find some good loot in the process.”
“Awww!” D and the burly man with the cards both groaned. Aggrieved complaints filled the room, but they were mostly ignored. The group had been with each other for far too many years to ignore B’s calculations.
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Far to the east of the grave of the young Tidebringer, Christina was having an entirely different interaction with a natural spirit.
“Keep it back, for just one more...there!” Ria exclaimed, standing up to reveal a section of uprooted dirt that had clearly recently sustained a plant. At her waist, a coarse bag bulged with the recently harvested plant.
Christina stepped back and allowed the pair of stubborn Woodsingers to waddle up to the dirt and examine it for themselves. They clicked their heads, filling the air with their strange song, and a second later one vanished and a tiny seed in the dirt sprouted in seconds. Satisfied that no more plants were injured in the area, the remaining Woodsinger retreated.
“They do that every time, huh,” Christina said.
Ria, a former slave turned farmer, laughed heartily. “Oh yeah, strangest way of farming I’ve ever done, but can’t argue with results, ehh? It's a pain when it goes wrong though. See, just the other day a Woodsinger got to the fruit trees before we could stop it, and now that tree only produces fruit the size of your head! Can you believe it?”
“Hmm,” Christina grunted, vaguely aware of the particular event through Cortana. “Is there anything else in particular you need?”
“Nah,” Ria smiled, tossing her bag full of grain onto a wheelbarrow and brushing some errant dust from her hands. “Today's harvest is done. We’ll have enough supplies from this haul for cloth and bread for days. The only thing is, we’se been wondering if there's a way to prevent the crops from leveling up so fast. Won’t be long ‘fore none of us’ll be able to harvest the fruit trees, is all.”
Christina told the woman she would come back to her on that, so after a few more pleasantries, she excused herself. There were newcomers just entering the city and she had learned the hard way that things went most smoothly if she was there to guide them.
“Welcome to New Hope,” Christina greeted the small group of seven bedraggled individuals led by a young boy. “You managed to navigate the path fine, Eren?”
“I did ma’am.” Eren nodded politely. He gestured behind himself vaguely, and at Christina’s nod, he scampered back into the woods along the snaking maze that led to the outside world. Christina took a moment to follow him with her gaze, then turned to the newcomers.
“Welcome again. My name is Christina Liashen, it is a pleasure to meet you all. If you would follow me I can direct you to your residence.”
What followed was the typical conversation that every new group of former slaves had. The housing was free? Would the town accept them even though they didn’t have any money? And other sensible questions that no longer mattered when a town was located within a dungeon.
Christina answered each question with patience and geniality, but internally she let her mind wander. In a way, the dungeon had provided exactly what it had promised. A new land for the immigrants with all the resources they could ever want. The people were protected from the wrath of their former employers by the dungeon boundary itself, and the only thing that was truly lacking was trade partners. A concept the inhabitants of New Hope were leery of for obvious reasons.
Worst of all, the new goddess or dungeon, or whatever it was, answered prayers. Unlike Deia, any mortal, from level 1 to 30 or beyond, could beseech the Goddess for something. No matter how minor, the Goddess always responded. Oftentimes the Goddess didn’t do anything substantial, leaving only a warm sensation of being heard in people's hearts. That more than anything bolstered the people of New Hope. With Deia, you could pray and pray and never receive any hint that your prayer was heard.
If she was being honest, Christina couldn’t help but be jealous.
The Woodsingers were just another example of the new Goddess’...not superiority, but rather her profound presence. Deia’s only champions were the Inquisitors, and those monstrosities did not inspire people as the Woodsingers did. It rankled. With just a few gifts, an entire host of people abandoned the religion of their youth. Was Deia’s congregation so weak?
Christina shook her head in chagrin as she left the newcomers to settle into one of the newest elevated abodes. She descended back to ground level, still deep in thought.
The truth was, Christina herself was starting to see the benefit of converting to the new religion. Despite the horrific wrath of the new Goddess, she couldn’t deny that the deity cared for her people in a more active way than Deia ever did. In fact, if the old texts could be believed, Deia’s wrath had been no less devastating when it had occurred.
Christina sighed, then muttered under her breath. “Cortana, show me the insects around Krimta again if you would.”
The golden globe mostly obscured by the black swarm replaced her vision. She watched the defenders throw spells and skills out, only for the swarm to reform and skitter back against the golden wall. She studied the progress for a moment, then with a pang in her chest, she dismissed the vision.
In her heart, Christina couldn’t help but wish for her family — and perhaps all the denizens of Krimta — to convert to the new religion, if only temporarily. There would be so much less suffering if everyone could shelter in New Hope until this whole situation blew over.
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Oh, bloody hell. I got [Spiritual Reinforcement]. No merges or nothing. That was fine, but I had kinda wished I’d get something more immediately relevant. That wasn’t to say that the additional four creatures wouldn’t help, but I was getting nervous. It had been an entire day since Krimta had been besieged and hours since two other cities in the distance had put up their bubbles. It felt ominous that there hadn’t been a radical response yet.
I mean, I would have expected a response almost instantly to rush out and try to stop my Orbital Bombardment, but no. They just...sat there. Either they really were that pathetic, or something big was coming, and I didn’t like that.
I didn’t spend the time idly worrying. I did all the normal upgrades I was doing constantly. I continued crafting maximum resistance gear and filling out the repertoire of +4% gear in the damage types that were most common. My territory was also expanding steadily, but I had dialed back the amount of mana I was directing in that direction. Expanding was important but...
< Mana 13,992/15,500 >
Levels were also pretty damn important.
My expansion rate hadn’t taken as big of a hit as I had expected. Mainly due to the obscene number of prayers coming my way on the daily. Extrapolating from the number of people requesting insect immunity, New Hope was about to experience a ten-fold increase in size. Even taking into account the people who prayed but didn’t have any intention of making the trek to my domain. I was about to gain a staggering number of new souls.
I had initially thought to deny the insincere, but in the end, I gave it to everyone who asked. It felt bad to deny someone asking me so personally, especially since the very act of praying already weeded out the truly disingenuous. They needed to believe in me at least a little to create a valid prayer in the first place. Besides, it was sort of like a form of propaganda. Who would you rather support? The old goddess who never answers your prayers or the new one who does even when you didn’t really believe in the first place?
Never mind the fact that I’m the one offering both the poison and the cure.
Handling the prayers and maintaining my domain was mostly automatic to me by now. What I spent my direct attention on was figuring out how to weaponize my new skill. [Spiritual Reinforcement] only applied to spectral creatures, which essentially meant just my Woodsingers. As usual, though, I wasn’t content with stopping at that.
My first attempt at creating a spectral Eyelit Effigy didn’t go so hot. Ghost trees were an awesome concept, but not when the merge created a creature with only one life. That became a recurring theme with any fusion with a Woodsinger. There was some kind of fundamental modifier that was limiting the life, and any basic merge carried it over to the product. Needless to say, a combat minion with one life was just dumb.
I tried several strategies. Incorporating mana into the fusion process had the strange result of triggering [Soulbind Artifact] for some weird reason. Adding a physical material like stone, air, or even shadow stuff to the fusion didn’t have a strong effect on the one-life limit. The only notable exception was transparent alumina which granted an increase in maximum physical resistance.
I noted that result down but continued on.
Perhaps the problem was my imagination. Spectral trees were cool, but kind of...a nonentity. I didn’t know what the end result should look like. At best, I was imagining a transparent tree with spooky Halloween decorations on it, but even the transparency didn’t make much sense considering that the Woodsingers were opaque in their base form.
What I needed was to understand what caused the limitation in life. At best I could guess that it was the spectral characteristic itself. Or perhaps the ephemeral flesh that made up the Woodsinger. That implied that no matter what I did, any fusion that resulted in spectral characteristics would result in a creature with 1 life. That wouldn’t do as I was determined to figure something out.
Instead of trying more with Woodsingers and Eyelit Effigies, I instead extended a bit of the fourth floor into my maze and prepared a fusion between a Nothic and a Woodsinger. For one, the Nothic felt the most right to me. They were already dark monsters of the deep, and a spectral modifier fit them more than it did a tree or a golem.
I grabbed the Nothic and a Woodsinger and made them float about each other as I thought about the end result. If it was the flesh itself that was limiting me, then I would have to essentially create a monster without using flesh in the first place. That was a weird concept, and two hours passed in a flash as all combinations I could imagine failed.
Eventually, on a whim, I triggered [Summon Nothic] and tried to force it to use my mana to form its body, instead of its default pattern that created flesh from nothing. Blue particles trickled out of my cilia and coalesced into a...spectral Nothic.
The creature looked exactly like a normal Nothic but wasn’t made of flesh and blood. The only issue was the thing didn’t have any mass and so floated around like a Woodsinger. It also kept its default life total, which was nice, but the lack of mass destroyed its maneuverability as the best it could do was bob around like a drunk astronaut on the moon.
It was a flabbergasting — if slightly anticlimactic — discovery as I knew for a fact that such a small amount of mana couldn’t form such a large cohesive construct. The strange Nothic benefited from [Spiritual Reinforcement] but, further experimentations with fusing it with shadow led to dead ends.
I took a proverbial step back. Very confused and not entirely sure that it was worth fiddling with this anymore. There was some deeper answer I was missing as to how creatures were created. Mana’s behavior was inconsistent with regard to my minions, and I still had no clue why [Soulbind Artifact] triggered half the time.
On the one hand, I was on a time crunch. Or I thought I was, and spending days or weeks unraveling this mystery might put me in jeopardy. On the other hand...this was exciting! A real mystery that didn’t immediately fall apart the moment I looked at it funny. A thousand ideas on how to unravel this puzzle flowed across my mind and I—
< Mana 15,500/15,500 >
< You have leveled up! >
< You are now level 26! >
< Mana: 0/17,958 >
< Pending Upgrades: 1 >
I paused. Then sighed, returning to reality. This really wasn’t the time to get lost in thought. I had a war to fight, and if [Spiritual Reinforcement] was only useful to my Woodsingers without massive investment, then I would set it aside until later.
I pulled up the options for the next upgrade.
Attune your fourth floor to the Arches of Passage:
It is only possible to enter or leave the floor by stepping through an arch
Floor must contain at least 4 arches
Attune your fourth floor to the Elven Lands:
Minions cannot spawn within Elven Lands
Non-native non minions have trouble noticing native non minions until invited
Attune your fourth floor to the Considered Proliferation:
Your fourth floor spreads at a rate of 1 milliliter/3 second per non minion within the floor
We were back to biome effects at this level. That was good, I had been missing having a true biome effect for my fourth floor. I had been bypassing that particular problem by interweaving my second and fourth floors and I doubted that any of the residents had noticed that only most of the plants were benefiting from [Eternal Spring].
These options seemed a little odd for a biome effect though. It felt as if all the options were geared toward helping the humans and not me. That struck me as peculiar considering it was my upgrade in the first place. Maybe all the mootsie-tootsie plant-centric upgrades in the past had influenced this one? I had no way of knowing, but I kind of hoped for a chaotic fusion this go around.
If I was forced to pick one, it would likely be [Arches of Passage]. It provided the most direct defensive benefits with clear entrances and exits to the open floor plan. I would easily be able to fortify and trap any arch coming into the floor. [Elven Lands] felt like it did something similar in a different way, while [Considered Proliferation] was just bad. In theory, it would be amazing once I got enough people in my domain, but the fact that it didn’t specify a direction of growth meant that the majority of the expansion would be useless air and dirt.
The only situation I could fathom where [Considered Proliferation] would be good was if I ever figured out how to create subdomains. If I somehow gained locomotion in the future. I would be able to leave New Hope behind and it would continue to grow without me.
Maybe. That felt like a lot of what-ifs, but would be cool if I managed it.
< Pending Upgrades: 0 >
Oh, bloody hell. That was quick.