The rocky scenery changed only slightly as the Soul Nexus once again, transported me. I found myself standing on the edge of a vast caldera, perched atop a steep mountain. At least I didn’t have to hike the entire way up. I looked around, taking in the awe-inspiring but treacherous landscape.

But why a volcano as the shallowest dungeon? Is it even active? The heat and the risk of eruption were not particularly appealing to me. Yeah, nope. I’m going to try again.

With a shake of my head, I turned around to slide down the slope of the mountain. As I descended, I thought about the safest dungeon. The ground rushed up to meet me, and I landed with a thud, a stark contrast to the prior precarious heights. I found myself outside a mausoleum, and relief washed over me.

Okay, this is definitely a safer option than a volcano. A wry smile spread across my lips. Not that it’s that hard to be safer than a volcano.

The black stone of the mausoleum’s exterior was odd in comparison to the odd colors of red, pink, and purple. The mausoleum had been marred by countless claw marks on its surface. A steeple-like fixture sat on top, but something had been broken off. Two heavy iron doors lay next to the entrance, detached from their hinges. The building was easily as large as a department store but only one story tall.

I looked around and didn’t see or hear anything. With my gun aimed ahead, I walked into the building. Immediately, I was hit with a blast of chilling air. It was dark, but I could see more of the glowing rocks, like the vein I saw back at the town ahead. At least I have a backup option now, in case things go south.

My boots echoed against the stone, despite my best efforts to walk quietly. As I cautiously stepped into a massive chamber. The room was vast and dimly lit, illuminated by the bluish glow emanating from the glowing rocks embedded in the walls in the shapes of disks.

In the center of the chamber lay a colossal stone altar, intricately carved with strange symbols. It almost seemed to glow purple in the light. On the far end of the room, an imposing set of stone double doors sat, covered with even more of the strange symbols.

The more I looked at the symbols, the more they reminded me of clouds and waves. But they also looked like they were drawn by a child with a stick in the sand. There were two more doors on each side, but they were made of wood. Odd. Nothing in town was made of wood, and I haven’t seen any trees.

Despite the chamber’s impressive size, it felt eerily empty. The air was frigid, letting me see my breath with each exhale. I really hope I don’t run into anyone like that demon lady the shadow possessed from before. My footsteps echoed through the chamber, breaking the silence. From the lack of response, there weren’t any immediate threats.

I headed towards the door on the right. It’s as good a choice as the others. Although the stone doors kind of freak me out a little.

With a firm grip on my gun, I pushed the creaking door open and stepped into the room. My synthetic eyes adapted to the sudden light, revealing a sight that left my jaw bouncing off the floor.

The room was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was a botanical paradise, if the plants were real. Vivid, bioluminescent plants of various shapes and sizes filled the chamber. Their leaves emitted a soft glow, casting an aurora borealis-like display that danced across the walls. And they were made of glass.

In the center of the room, there was a cracked stone basin devoid of water. There were countless claw markings in the stone around and on the stone basin. My curiosity compelled me to explore further. I wandered through the room, discovering that the walls held recessed shelves and covered more claw marks.

Okay, what was here that caused all these claw marks? I turned back to the door and saw that the inside was heavily gouged. But whatever caused them never made it out of the room.

I tightened my grip on my gun and I continued my exploration, eventually coming across a spiral staircase in the corner of the chamber. The steps descended into full darkness. After another tour of the room, I didn’t find any more options, so I left the room and closed the door.

I’ll save the delving for later. For now, I’m going to stay close to the entrance.

So I walked across the room and checked the other wooden door. And like the first door, the door creaked open.

The chamber was bathed in a soft blue light emanating from more of the crystalline disks embedded in the walls. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of some smooth, obsidian-like stone, and they seemed to absorb the light. The air was noticeably colder, and I shivered involuntarily, the chill seeping into my bones. A quick check of my infrared vision confirmed it.

I cautiously stepped further into the room. The chamber was not as large as the glassy botanical paradise, but it had something all together that was just as strange. In the center of the room stood an enormous pillar.

As I approached it, I noticed intricate carvings etched into the surface of the structure. The symbols resembled constellations and celestial bodies. Not the same symbols from the main entrance? I raised my gun, scanning the room for any immediate threats, but the chamber appeared empty, just like the previous one. I looked around and didn’t see any claw marks anywhere in the room.

Well, you can’t get much safer than a deserted dungeon.

Again, my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to investigate the pillar. I rubbed my hand along the carvings as I circled around. Suddenly, my finger hit a snag. I looked closer and saw a protruding brick in an otherwise single piece of rock. I pried my arm blade under it, and it popped out and hit the ground with a slam.

I created a sizeable opening, and I peered inside. I gasped. The interior was a pulsing sphere of light. There was a warmth radiating from it. The interior walls of the cylinder were adorned with more of those celestial symbols, and they seemed to pulse along with the sphere, matching its light and rhythm.

It’s beautiful. What is it?

I couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the sphere. As I did, I felt a massive surge of energy force its way through my arm and into my chest. I quickly withdrew my hand, but it was too late. The orb followed my hand and clung to it as more energy poured into me.

My eyes widened, and I screamed while flailing my arm uselessly as I watched the energy flow from the sphere into my hand and then surge through my arm. The sensations were overwhelming. It was like a torrent of fire coursing through my veins. My HUD flashed with warnings and alerts from the unexpected influx of energy.

The nanites vibrated within me, going into overdrive. They looked for any damage to repair, but there wasn’t any, at least as they could find. The orb’s light seemed to be growing dimmer by the second.

I continued screaming and desperately throwing my arm around. Nothing would dislodge the sphere, and I didn’t dare touch it with both hands. My body began to heat up. Then it got even hotter. I could feel the energy radiating from me. My skin felt like it was on fire, and I clutched my chest as it got harder to breathe. My HUD flashed another warning about thermal overload.

My mana bar then started changing colors from blue to purple to red. Then my energy bar shot upwards. Filling up, once, twice, three times. It didn’t stop until it filled up five times with a little extra.

The energy surge slowly subsided, and my body gradually returned to a normal temperature. I glanced back at the pulsing sphere, or where it had been. It was gone. A small metal orb was left at the edge of my fingertips, and it hovered for a brief second before dropping to the ground and bouncing away.

I scratched at the top of my head. Orange, what was that?

Our leading hypothesis is that was a mana battery.

As Orange started with their messages, all the glowing stones stopped glowing. And let me guess, that battery was what kept the lights on.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

Evidence supports that claim.

So what exactly is a mana battery? Why did that thing latch onto me? And more importantly, what happened?

The moment the host’s hand touched the battery, there was an energy discharge. The host’s epidermal plating attracted the energy. The energy and mana types were attracted to one another, forcing it to be drawn to the host. We did our best to mitigate the surge and disperse the energy throughout the host’s entire body and equally between each nanite.

That explains my energy levels, but what is up with my mana? My hair itched even more.

The host has also absorbed all the mana in the battery, rendering it inert. The host will now suffer from mana poisoning until the mana is returned to normal limits. We have localized the effects of the mana poisoning to the host’s scalp.

Poisoning? That’s possible? Am I in trouble? What do I do? I scratched both hands through my hair desperately. The itching wasn’t painful, but it was hard to think beyond scratching it.

Panicking is unnecessary. “Mana poisoning” is the term in our data banks, but it seems to be a poor description. The host would need to absorb two or three more batteries, like they just consumed, to have an adverse effect on their health. At the host’s current levels, it is an irritant. Each person is affected by mana poisoning differently. It seems that the host will suffer from rapid follicle growth. And it seems the concentration also affected the pigmentation.

I froze. My head was feeling heavier, and I pulled my braid around and saw that it was twice as long and stark white. And while I stared at my hair, it continued growing. My hair’s white, and it’s growing. How do I make it stop?

The host must use their mana until levels return to normal.

I can’t use magic! Unless you can convert mana into energy, my hair is going to keep growing at this insane speed. I’ll put Rapunzel to shame before long.

The host’s mana levels will return to normal in twelve hours at their current rate. At which, the host’s hair length will be thirty-nine feet, seven and three-quarters inches long. Assuming the host doesn’t cut it. The host has another option: the gun.

Thirty-nine… feet? I looked around and picked up my gun. Not gonna happen.

I fired off all six shots at the pillar. Six holes penetrated into the pillar and through into the center. My mana bar had shifted from red back to purple. I loaded it up with another six rocks and fired them.

In the small room, the sound of the projectiles hitting echoed almost as loud as a real gunshot. My mana bar returned to its normal blue shade. Each shot felt draining. Okay, um, this gun packs more of a punch than the one I got from Cushin. But it is equally more costly to fire. But it doesn’t make that much noise when I fire it.

The host’s experience with guns from Earth does not apply to mana guns. Guns from Earth require a small, focused explosion, causing the recoil and sound the host is expecting. There is no explosion when firing a mana gun. The projectile is launched through an extensive matter acceleration magic matrix.

I looked down at the gun, shifting my vision to the black and white outlines of my terahertz vision. Right. Whatever you say. I pulled out another six rocks and shoved them into the chambers. Then I pulled my hair back and felt it reach the small of my back. Yeah, that’s going to be cut once I can get my hands on a mirror. So until then… I tucked the hair down the back of my shirt. It was a bit uncomfortable with it feeling like something was constantly tugging on my hair, but at least it wasn’t flowing around everywhere.

“And thank goodness the itching stopped,” I said to nobody.

There were several small pieces of the pillar on the floor that I decided to replenish my ammunition with. Now there’s one last set of doors to check.

I went to check the final stone double doors. As I put my hand on the door, I heard something. It sounded like scratching, and it was on the other side of the door. Is there something here? I do need shards and levels.

I loosened, then tightened my grip, and checked to see if the door pushed or pulled open. The scratching grew more intense and was joined by a faint snarling. With a swift motion, I pushed the doors open, revealing a still-dark chamber. The scratching sound grew louder. I stepped inside, scanning the room through my terahertz vision.

There, in the corner, I saw a creature hunched over, its sharp claws digging into the floor. It stopped and turned its head, its eyes locking onto me. The creature let out a guttural growl, baring its razor-sharp teeth in its disproportional mouth.

It was probably two feet tall; it even hunched over. It looked like a mutated wolverine with a bad fur-day and abnormally large claws on all of its legs. I couldn’t make out any more details through the black and white colors.

Hesitating, I raised the gun, my finger poised on the trigger. I fired, and the projectile punctured a hole straight through it. A notification told me I received five stat points and three hundred and ten shards. But I didn’t notice that there was a second one in another corner.

The creature lunged, its movements lightning-fast. Behind it, I saw a hole, and out came another three of the creatures. I jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding its vicious claws.

They're fast.

One by one, the others leapt for me, claws and teeth coming at me fast. I shot the closest one and again, its body burst as the rock punctured its body. It let out a blood-curdling scream before going still. Undeterred, another two others jumped and latched onto one of my legs.

Instantly, they both dug their teeth and claws into my leg. I stabbed at one with my arm blade and shot the other with my gun. The final creature jumped and aimed for my face. I fell backwards when it dug its claws into my shoulders and snapped its teeth inches from my face.

I dropped my gun and reached up to hold it back, desperately tugging at the fur. My hands filled with clumps of fur, and I pulled them out as it wrapped its teeth on my face. Teeth shredded my face, and some glanced off my eyes. I could even feel them gouge into the bone.

It kept biting as I tried to pull it off, but it was stronger than me. Eventually, I managed to get my left arm in its mouth, saving my face from being any more mutilated. It gnawed at my hand with abandon. Even though I saved my face from its teeth, my chest was still subjected to its claws.

I worked my arm blade into the creature’s side and skewered it. With a twist of my arm, I could feel the blood pour from the wound. Its body quickly went limp. I rolled over and threw it off me, slowly catching my breath.

The nanites went to work fixing up all the injuries the creatures inflicted.

Okay, that was exciting. Are those the bav’varst Igzad warned me about? They’re not too bad. They die pretty quickly. Although it seems they rely heavily on swarming their prey.

I scooped up my gun, filled the chambers, and saw my mana bar was a little more than half spent. I took a quick look at my status and distributed the points I received. Five points into arcane and resilience, and ten points into toughness.

Name:

Rina Lone

Level:

17

Augments:

Agility:

185

Cellular Regeneration

Arcane:

110

Synthetic eyes: lvl. 2

Power:

65

HUD

Quickness:

260

Epidermal plating (arms) lvl. 1

Resilience:

120

Epidermal plating (hands) lvl. 1

Toughness:

140

Arm blade (right)

Unassigned Points:

0

Shards:

17284

I heard more scratching coming from the hole. Well, so much for the idea of a deserted dungeon.