Once Alistair was sure there weren't any hidden monsters waiting to ambush them, he stepped out until he could confirm that the dungeon wasn't cycling and that this wasn't an instanced dungeon. He also noted the lack of a Dungeon event window. This wasn’t surprising, given that it was a natural dungeon and they were the first to enter it. Over time, older or more intelligent dungeons could create scenarios or conditions, but this dungeon seemed relatively inexperienced, with its intelligence still unknown. Determining the intelligence of the core was one of their next objectives, as it could vary widely.
He had read extensively about Dungeon core intelligence, finding that some cores were exceptionally intelligent while others were as dumb as rocks... literally. Occasionally, these cores even claimed to be reincarnated beings. Whether this was a System-deployed measure to help cores cope or give them specific personalities remained unknown, as these reincarnated cores never remembered their names or planets of the origin or they stated names and places that couldn't be found anywhere in the multiverse, making it hard to impossible to verify their claims. Some of these assertions even sparked religions centered around reincarnation. This was further complicated by some cores creating entire sapient species that often worshipped them and helped the core eventually advance to godhood. Alistair found the whole topic incredibly fascinating and spent much of his free time reading history books on different cores, their accomplishments, and their actions.
Another important point was that dungeon cores could generate near-endless amounts of mana out of seemingly nothing, giving credence to believers that cores were people or, at the very least, a type of beast. Cores have various methods for generating energy, the most powerful and prevalent being from the delvers who enter them. What’s intriguing is that this energy collection doesn’t seem to drain the mana of the delvers themselves. Other common methods include gathering emotional energy, harnessing energy from treasures, or through combat within the dungeon itself.
Regardless of the type of energy generation—whether internal or external—all dungeon cores grow stronger over time, especially when delved regularly. Some scholars have even speculated that cores receive titles and rewards from the system for hosting, interacting with, defeating, or even slaying delvers, which encourages a form of symbiosis between dungeons and delvers. Well-managed dungeons often become valuable assets for factions, providing a steady, endless supply of materials, records, and treasures. However, improperly managed cores could wither and die, essentially committing suicide especially when the core had been subdued.
Since this dungeon lacked a scenario, it meant they would need to defeat its defenders, commonly called guardians, scions, or dungeon bosses, to complete the dungeon. Finding the core to subdue the dungeon wasn't guaranteed either, as many cores hid themselves incredibly well, while others positioned themselves in seats of power and significance, generally at the end of the dungeon.
As Alistair stepped out of the dense golden forest and overlooked the golden plains, with another large forest and a megafauna version of the golden oak at its center, he felt confident he would find the core there. His confidence grew when he spotted a large marble-like structure surrounding the foot of the massive tree.
Riseth stepped up next to Alistair and whistled as they both gazed at the massive expanse laid out before them.
“Such a stunning view. I doubt an unintelligent core could create something so beautiful,” Riseth remarked, admiring the scenery.
Alistair nodded. “I agree. There’s a sense of design here, structured but still natural. A less intelligent core would have settled for a basic cave, only evolving as it ages.”
“I loved reading about the different cores and how they function,” Riseth added with a smile. “Though I wish we had more detailed books on the magical processes behind them.”
“That would be amazing,” Alistair said, returning her smile. “It’s definitely one of the more interesting reads.”
Riseth nodded eagerly and pointed at some moving forms in the distance. "Seems like unicorns are one of the more common monsters in this dungeon. I see multiple small herds ranging from one to three unicorns."
While not numerous, unicorns were reasonably powerful. Having them as one of the more common beasts in this dungeon was great news, as their materials were incredibly valuable. As Alistair looked around, he noticed a griffin subspecies flying through the sky. However, instead of eagle and lions' bodies, these had some unknown type of golden peafowl and Jaguar-like body adorned with a mix of gold, black, and white feathers. The griffins had elaborate golden manes with black feathers standing on end like a crown, and peafowl-like tail feathers with occasional long separate feathers ending in gold and black. They looked almost more decorative than dangerous, which made Alistair wonder about the personality of the core. It seemed to prefer creating beautiful and fanciful beasts over vicious and threatening ones. Identifying one of them at this distance let Alistair know it was a [Asarian Suncrest Griffin - lvl 121].
"Alistair nodded thoughtfully. "These creatures are quite powerful based on their levels. We should consider fortifying the area around the dungeon. We don't want griffins and unicorns of that caliber causing havoc on our planet."
"We could set up an illusionary array to conceal the dungeon exit," Riseth suggested. "Unless the dungeon itself intervenes and guides the monsters, that should be sufficient to keep them contained."
"Which means we need to understand the dungeon's personality," Alistair mused, eyeing the extravagant surroundings. "It seems to favor golden and ornate aesthetics."
"I'm honestly impressed that the core managed to make all this look so good without the golden decorations appearing gaudy," Riseth remarked.
Alistair continued to scan the surroundings, gazing toward the horizon that seemed to stretch endlessly, interspersed with fields, hills, and forests. He noted some birch-like trees mixed in with the oak-like trees but couldn't spot any other monster types. They would need to thoroughly explore the area to locate treasures and points of interest where valuable materials might be harvested.
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"We should save that palace structure around the massive tree for last. Let's see what we can find elsewhere first. Plus, I'm itching to try out my new sword," Alistair said.
Although Alistair had been practicing his telekinesis a lot lately, he felt it was time to get back into the thick of things and test out that new weapon he got. Riseth was the first to take off toward a group of three unicorns, and Alistair summoned King to cover them and shred apart any suncrest griffins that might intervene. As he pondered the potential materials they could obtain from the griffins, he realized they could potentially be tamed and used as common summons for their clan. However, he wasn't sure the overly fancy-looking beasts were the right fit, but they could potentially still sell them. As for the other known beasts, having unicorns would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention.
As they approached, Alistair conjured Forging Tides, the bone handle wrapped in the blue sash feeling comfortable in his hands. He attempted to charge a blast through the blade, and at its tip, his Qi rapidly transformed from its usual kinetic charge into densely packed water. As soon as the unicorns noticed their approach and began to charge, Alistair shot the water blast at the leading unicorn. Although it did solid damage, the beast shrugged off the attack, as it was quite underpowered compared to his regular kinetic blast. He then switched to ice, directing his intent to elongate the sphere as he dodged the incoming golden sickles racing towards them. Meanwhile, Riseth had teleported behind the two leading beasts, plunging her bone blades into the last of the creatures. The blades transformed into chainsaws, ripping and tearing into the beasts to devastating effect.
The beasts nearly halted their charge, spinning their heads around to witness their fellow creature being torn asunder by Riseth as King swooped in and took another beast out of the equation. His powerful talons ground the unicorn into the dirt, his sharp claws threatening to rip the unfortunate beast apart as he brought down his powerful jaws on its neck. Alistair wasn't in a rush as he still tried to figure out the spell structure; his usual stake blast variant didn't seem to click into place as smoothly as he had expected. However, it was a minor fix. He let the densely packed ice take over the shell of his arcane construct, disregarding the need for it to be contained by a sphere of force.
The ice lance shot out, a long, sharp shard impaling the beast's shoulder. Despite the injury, the beast powered through, intent on taking down Alistair. Almost casually, he managed to keep his distance, the beast unable to restrict his teleportation. As he dodged, Alistair fiddled with different arcane structures, experimenting with his Battle Spheres skill to see if he could channel and shoot ice lances through the blade. He noticed Riseth and King, who had both taken down their respective beasts, exchange a look. Riseth shook her head while King let out a grumble as they watched him fight.
Alistair didn't feel pressured; this was worthwhile practice. He hadn't even begun to explore the more interesting applications of Forging Tides' enchantment, as he had a potentially devastating move in mind. Battle Spheres were merely the next step after a single blast. After a few minutes, guided by the blade's enchantment and his own experience, he managed to manifest the Battle Sphere skill, and it orbited around the blade instead of him. He rapidly shot icy lances and then water bullets at the beast, which quickly healed itself. Alistair let it, finding near-mindless Dungeon beasts perfect for practice. He didn't feel guilty using them this way; unless they were subdued and bonded as Summons, they had barely any personality beyond following the dungeon core's orders and killing intruders to gain rewards from the system.
While keeping the beast at bay with teleportation, Alistair checked his skills. Although they hadn't upgraded, both his Blast Master and Battle Sphere skills had an additional line mentioning the use of equipment, allowing for additional Compound skills. Notably, Ice Lance and Water Blast were highlighted with an asterisk. However, Ice Lance hadn't integrated with Blast Master, as it wasn't compatible with it because it was not a blast. He was confident that if he contained cold instead of ice, he could make it work, but that was far down on his list of priorities.
He glanced at his companions and saw they had grown impatient watching him experiment with magic. They had already moved on to hunt other nearby packs of beasts. King had taken on a small group of Suncrest Griffins, while Riseth had engaged a duo of Unicorns by herself.
Alistair noticed another lone griffin heading toward King to aid its brethren. It was almost too perfect a target for his next experiment. A wicked smile crossed his face as he sidestepped and lashed out with his blade, decapitating the unicorn that had charged him. The blade passed through the beast with almost no resistance, and it tumbled a few more meters. He hadn't expected it to cut this sharply and looked at the blade in wonder; it was far sharper than his poleaxe. However, that usually wasn't an issue as it meant he had an easier time feeling the momentum and kinetic energy of an attack.
Pointing his blade skyward toward the griffin, Alistair activated an aspect of a skill that had previously been useless due to his lack of affinity and the power of the attack. Light manipulation, particularly the beam, had been underwhelming, but he knew just how powerful a beam of light could be from fighting Savagio. The question now was whether the beam would retain its speed despite having its concept converted. It had been the case with his blasts, but if this worked, and he could channel light through Forging Tides and utilize its built in high affinity and physical nature, the resulting attack would be...
Alistair watched as the griffin was sliced in half by a thin beam of water arcing out at almost imperceptible speed. An incredibly loud crack rang out due to the beam's immense speed as it penetrated the beast's defenses after mere seconds of resistance, cutting it cleanly in half. This drew the attention of both King and Riseth, who stared at him in disbelief. But he wasn't done. He summoned his Battle Spheres skill, which he had already practiced shooting multiple beams of light with, though its power had been too weak to use effectively before. Now, six beams of water lanced out, cutting the Suncrest Griffons into ribbons.
The water beams, while not at the speed of light, still moved at incredible velocity, and their ability to maintain physical form made them highly effective. It was probably for the best, considering the catastrophic devastation a light-speed water beam would cause. Alistair knew that creatures with strong defenses could likely withstand or shrug off the attack, thanks to their magical and physical resistances, among other factors. His kinetic blasts packed far more raw power but were much slower—and unlike the water beams, he hadn’t yet managed to shape his kinetic attacks into a continuous beam and wasn't sure it was a good idea to begin with. That made the water beams particularly valuable. Their sheer speed and high artificial affinity made them nearly impossible to dodge as they could track targets incredibly well, posing a deadly challenge to fast but lightly armored enemies. King could likely handle them, though; his inherent magic resistance, thick skin, barriers, and armor plates would easily absorb the hit.
While he had seen people make incredible use of seemingly simple magic enchantments, this put things into perspective as he felt like he had not tried hard enough to acquire or create magic items. He needed Denodia to upgrade his weapon to allow the conversion to harness his kinetic affinity as soon as possible. This would probably make him even more of a menace within his own Grade. Alistair stared at the blade in his hands as he felt King approach and Riseth teleport next to him, looking intently at him.