Violet Danderpuff reached out and grabbed the mana that rushed toward the dungeon exit. His mental grip broke immediately, he couldn’t possibly hope to hold back so much pressure. He reach out again and stabbed a stiff pole of ambient mana through the flowing mana, trying to pin it to the ground. The flow of mana caught on the obstacle and was forced to split. Violet stabbed again and again and again as he fell. He stabbed wherever the mana flow was fastest. When his first obstacle broke, he kept stabbing new mana poles into the flow. He didn’t realize that he had fallen into the mana flow, carried around like twig, until he crashed into one of his poles. He flapped his wings to lift him above the flow, but the flow was rising faster than he could fly without more concentration than he wanted to spend. He closed his eyes and continued stabbing poles into the flowing mana.
----------------------------------------
The stone bat strained to pull itself forward another body length. It let out a squeak of determination that was immediately lost to the wind in the tunnel. The stone bat pushed at the stone of the tunnel and a stone wall rose up just behind the bat, blocking part of the tunnel. The flow of wind and mana shifted in response to this new obstacle, and the bat was able to crawl forward a few body lengths before the wind slowed its progress again. With each wall the stone bat formed, the strength of the wind decreased as pressure forced mana and wind down less obstructed tunnels. When the wind was at a survivable level, the bat returned to the cavern under the main worldlet and began adding walls to the tunnel with the next strongest wind. The stone bat died of exhaustion while working on the fourth such tunnel.
----------------------------------------
While the inhabitants of the dungeon were fighting for their lives and the survival of the dungeon, the System belatedly recognized a dungeon improvement.
_ Multiple Worldlet Anchor Points Detected. Worldlet Stability Greatly Increased. Mana Generation Increased Approximately 1%. Congratulations. _
_ Select Dungeon Reward:
- New Material
- Unlock Spawn
- Unlock Treasure
- Entrance Feature (Disabled Due to Quarantine)
_
_ Random Selection: “Unlock Spawn” Selected. Select From Available Spawn: … _
_ Random Selection: “Tree Spider Moon Cat” _
The information bundle for the “Tree Spider Moon Cat” flowed into the dungeon mind space as a stream of mana and information. The stream pooled on the ground before taking the form of the nocturnal predator. The cat had a long, muscled body with eight powerful legs and an intimidating number of claws. The eyes of the cat shone white for a moment before it squinted, hissed in pain, and sprinted for the nearest shadows. The peafowl information bundle spotted the cat and reacted with avian panic, flapping wings and squawking in alarm. The bird’s panic flowed around the mushroom network.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The red rain flood had damaged the mushroom network. Many smaller connections had ruptured, but the connections that had seen the most use were still functioning. The wave of emotion and energy from the peafowl bundle sparked a reaction from the automatic dungeon defenses and the vine instincts to grow and drop fruit. Ghostly branches appeared at various points over vine branches, redirecting additional mental energy to defense, growth, and repair.
----------------------------------------
The roots of the vines in the dungeon underworld increased their pull on the rushing mana. The roots swelled and stretched further along the tunnels. Tubers grew and fell like hail in a storm. The first tuber split open to reveal the underworld snake, which struggled to stay grounded against the pull of the wind. Dungeon creatures and small treasures were swept along underworld tunnels towards the nearest caverns with connections to the worldlets above. In most of the cavers, the creatures tumbled into a pile on the floor in the middle of the cavern. As the piles grew, they began to clog tunnels and reduce the wind.
In the overworld, dungeon vines dropped fruit faster than it ever had before. A rain of fruit bounced off newly spawned creatures to spawn more creatures and treasures. Vines swelled and exploded into new branches and more leaves. Each new vine and leaf dragged on the flow of mana from the vine plants’ base towards the dungeon exit.
----------------------------------------
Crataz couldn’t believe he was still alive. He huddled in a spatial shield with the small family, a recovering Ivira, and an unconscious dungeon fairy. The fairy was in very bad shape, but Crataz thought he might live. Crataz had caught the wizard and the fairy in a mana net and pulled them into the shield instead of letting the mana and wind through them towards the exit at high speed. He wasn’t sure this decision would prove to be the right one, but since everyone hadn’t died instantly, it might be safer to weather the storm in the dungeon than be thrown out into a forest of very sturdy trees. His oath of safety to the fairy was not complaining, which was a good sign.
Crataz took a short break from reinforcing the fairy’s remaining mana poles to cast a small analysis. His suspicions were confirmed: the flow of mana was dropping! His joy was interrupted by the sight of a caterpillar-cat creature with far too many claws being swept out the dungeon exit. There is going to be a huge mess to clean up out there once I’m done cleaning up this huge mess in here. He thought grimly. He glanced at the small family to make sure they were still well, then resumed shoring up the failing mana poles.
----------------------------------------
_ Anomalous Crisis Performance Recognized. Dungeon Spawn Experience Awarded. Dungeon Spawn Marked for Continuous Respawn. _
A tuber fell and split open to reveal a very surprised stone bat. It squeaked in disbelief as the wind tried to tear it from the floor of the tunnel. It quickly pushed a stone wall up behind it, slowing the flow of mana and wind. The body of the stone bat began to glow. A small whirlpool of mana flowed into the bat, which grew larger and heavier by the second. The bats wings shifted around to its back as a new pair of clawed forelimbs grew from its shoulders. The bats body thickened with muscle and it stood up on its hind legs. The face widened and flattened. The mouth split open to reveal heavy stone fangs backed by sturdy molars. The mana in the bat swirled and pulsed one last time. The bat opened glowing red eyes and examined itself. The new forelimbs ended in clawed hands which the bat used to feel itself all over. Stretching its wings, the ex-bat tipped over, forcibly reminded that there was a strong wind present. The wind didn’t affect the ex-bat at all when it stood with its wings retracted. Stomping forward, the gargoyle resumed its work of raising stone walls to slow the wind.