What on earth did I expect? Truth be told, I hadn’t the foggiest.

I let instinct have its merry way as I swooped into a graceful arc, wings slicing through the air. Was it my imagination, or were the hues becoming more garish the further I spiralled down? It was …unsettling. There’s something inherently disconcerting about plunging into a dungeon’s bowels, but diving headfirst into a technicolour abyss? That’s an entirely new flavour of discomfort.

As dazzling as these hues were, they weren’t exactly doing wonders for my vision. They appeared oddly blurred here, as if viewed through a misty lens. Still no sight of the bottom of this eccentric descent, and the occasional twist in the path kept whatever lay below conveniently hidden.

Same dreary dungeon walls. How long had I been airborne? A minute, maybe? Yet something felt off—the deeper I plunged, the more alive I became. As if… yes, as if this was my calling. To dive deeper. To grow stronger. And yet, a niggling part of me couldn’t help but wonder. What was it about dungeons and depths that tugged at me so? Was it the promise of power, or something more base, more primal?

It was strange, really. Shouldn’t I be more at ease? A creature like me, reborn with this… insatiable hunger for strength, ought to relish the plunge. Yet something about it gnawed at me, like a splinter in the mind. A warning, perhaps? Or maybe a faint echo of who I once was?

I shook my head, dispelling the thoughts. No time for that sort of tomfoolery. The tunnel had dragged on long enough, and for the first time, something new caught my eye. I flared my wings, halting in mid-air.

There it was—a patch of tunnel swathed in flora.

This was no ordinary flora, like not something I’d ever witnessed aboveground. Thick, fleshy stems criss-crossed the walls, pulsating with hues of deep violet and neon green. The leaves were wide and spade-shaped, shimmering as though dusted with glowing spores. Clusters of flowers bloomed, their violet petals resembling fragile crystals.

I flapped my wings gently, edging closer. Well, there was my first clue about what sort of strange biome awaited me below. The hues were at their brightest here, so much so that I had to squint, even shut my eyes for a moment, as they bordered on blinding.

It was… peculiar. I mean, flora usually needs sunlight, doesn’t it? Then it struck me. Perhaps these hues had something to do with it. I’d seen these hues in sap before, healing monsters. Maybe these plants weren’t just glowing for show—they were feeding off the dungeon itself. These hues were keeping everything down here alive.

The more I chewed it over, the more it all clicked. These hues brightened everything, seeping into the walls, the air, even the very stones underfoot. Perhaps they were the heartbeat of the dungeon, spawning creatures and sustaining life in this underground theatre. It wasn’t just a cave—it was a living, breathing ecosystem.

My gaze sharpened as I plucked one of the glowing flowers, holding it up for a closer look. Really... it was rather fascinating. I flapped my wings gently, lifting myself above the dense, glowing patch to escape the overwhelming radiance. From up here, with the glow slightly muted, I could see it clearly. Yep, no doubt about it—these flowers pulsed with the same hues as that curious sap I’d seen earlier.

Curiosity piqued, I pondered, What exactly are these hues?

My first guess had been mana, but no... no, that wasn’t right. After honing my Mana Manipulation, I’d become quite familiar with mana’s subtle tingle, its energy coursing through me like a faint breeze. But these hues? They weren’t that. Mana, for all its might, was invisible to the eye unless I was actively fiddling with it. These hues, on the other hand, were plain as day, glowing like there was no tomorrow. And oddly enough, they seemed confined to this dungeon and the moon. Definitely not mana. Something else entirely.

The thought crossed my mind to ask Lotte, but knowing her, it was a coin toss whether I’d get a straight answer. Half the time, she’d give me a riddle more twisted than a pretzel. The other half? Stone-cold silence, especially if she deemed the information too dangerous for my delicate sensibilities.

Tsk.

No matter. I still had to delve deeper, but before that, I brought the flower to my snout, sniffing it cautiously. Without much further ado, I popped it into my mouth. Nom nom.

Ugh! Bitter as sin.

The taste lingered unpleasantly as I pulled up my stat screen. Mana Devourer was supposed to grant me a permanent boost in mana capacity when I consumed anything containing mana. Yet, this flower did nothing. Even though it clearly had some mana, it wasn’t enough to make a dent.

Perhaps there’s a threshold? I mused. The monster cores I’d devoured were chock-full of mana, far denser than anything I’d found naturally. Even when refined into batteries, those cores lasted far longer than any man-made ones.

Ah well, live and learn.

With a flick of my wings, I carelessly tossed the flower’s stem aside and swooped down once more, plunging deeper into the unknown abyss. Oddly enough, the descent took on a kind of tranquil charm as patches of flora began to cling to the jagged stone walls. Strange, wispy grasses bent and swayed in the faintest breeze, their shimmering blades gleaming with a kaleidoscope of colours. Dazzling crystalline flowers, almost offensively bright, sprouted from every crack and crevice, casting an ever-shifting, hypnotic light across the tunnel. It was… disturbingly beautiful. Almost enchantingly so.

Part of me had the wild urge to burn the lot of it. Set the whole tunnel alight in a glorious, blazing spectacle. Ha! What utter nonsense. I shook my head, dismissing the thought as the briefest flicker of madness. Why would I want to destroy something so strikingly beautiful? Didn’t make a lick of sense.

As I flew deeper, the tunnel began to shift. The raw, untamed stone walls gave way to something far more… deliberate. At first, it was barely noticeable—just the faintest lines where there should have been none. Edges too smooth for nature’s clumsy hand. My wings beat slower as curiosity gnawed at me. And then, there it was.

Stairs.

They spiralled downward, carved straight into the rock. Wide, shallow, and littered with those same radiant crystalline flowers, their surface worn by time but unmistakably crafted by someone with more than a passing acquaintance with architecture. I hovered for a moment, taking it all in. Who had built this? More importantly, why had they abandoned it?

Stolen story; please report.

The further I flew, the more obvious the signs became. Artificial tunnels branched off the main path, all half-finished and deserted. Rough, incomplete arches and scattered tools, rusted beyond recognition. Whatever had started here, it had been abandoned in a hurry.

Elves, perhaps? It wouldn’t be a stretch. Dungeons always had an artificial entrance, and maybe this was their doing—an attempt to expand the depths. The first entrance had been back near that fortress. Maybe they stumbled upon another natural tunnel and thought they'd make something of it.

But why stop? And why here?

I couldn’t help but curse my lack of research on dungeons. The moment I regained my humanoid form, I’d make it my mission to dive into a library and learn every blasted thing I could about these strange places. There was too much I didn’t know, and I didn’t like it one bit.

I continued downward. Yes, this place was abandoned—left in the midst of construction. But why? No bones, no bodies. No sign of conflict. Then again, this was a dungeon. Anything that had died here would’ve been devoured, swallowed whole by the place itself.

And then, at last, I saw it—the ground. The tunnel opened into a smooth, polished floor, immaculate compared to the rest of the dungeon. Definitely the handiwork of those elves. Strange carvings lined the walls, though their meaning escaped me.

Whatever this place had once been, it was now left to rot, overgrown with flora.

Ahead loomed a singular, colossal tunnel, with a few side passages branching off—though, I must say, they looked far too contrived for my liking. There was something decidedly off about them, so I paid them no mind and sauntered into the main thoroughfare. It was the one that led straight to the dungeon’s core, after all.

Peering my serpentine head from the tunnel’s mouth, I halted in my tracks. Breath caught mid-gasp.

"Thalador's bushy beard! WHAT IN YOUR NAME IS THIS?!"

Before me sprawled an underground forest, immense and seemingly endless. Crystalline trees towered above, their branches glistening in hues that descended like a fog. The air was practically saturated with luminescence—thick enough to cut with a knife—and even without those hues, I had no doubt the place would still glow like a bonfire in the pitch-black dark.

The hues intensified as they climbed skyward, forming a prismatic blur over the treetops, making it an absolute chore to spot the ground from my lofty perch. Not that it was an easy feat anyway, what with me being about sixty feet up. There were steps in front of me—well, an attempt at steps, though like most things in this part, they were left half-finished.

But why bother with steps when one can fly? Ah, the advantages of being a superior being in every conceivable way!

Still, Thalador’s beard, what in blazes was happening here? I’d heard whispers of dungeons with whole ecosystems nestled deep inside, but this... I wasn’t even that far down. Those tunnels I’d passed? Mere breadcrumbs, trails leading to the dungeon’s real start. This was the first true biome, a self-sustaining world unto itself, alive and teeming.

Looking out over that vast expanse from on high... well, it took the wind right out of my sails.

The thought of the countless creatures prowling below, lurking, hunting, growing stronger with each passing heartbeat, sent a delicious thrill through me. I wanted to dive right in, to sink my teeth into their flesh and revel in the carnage. Perhaps even—

SET EVERYTHING ABLAZE!

Well, maybe not that. But the notion simmered beneath the surface. Weird.

I’d need to tread lightly, though. Elves were likely lurking below, delvers were where dungeon was, and who knows what else. And since this dungeon belonged to Lithrindel, Elves practically ran this sector of the dungeon. There was every chance I’d stumble upon them—or worse, those accursed cultists again, especially if my suspicions about their noble connections held water. Stealth was paramount.

Before venturing further, I retreated once more. No one about. A quick check of the airflow confirmed those side tunnels were nothing but dead ends, so no nasty surprises lurking there. I still had a bit of time before plunging into the forest’s depths, so why not hone my craft?

Settling back on my haunches, I commenced another round of mana manipulation. I was brimming with mana, letting it flow through me, pulsing through my veins, and slowly expelling it from my claws. Routine now, but satisfying.

Then, at precisely five mana, something shifted.

[Mana Manipulation has reached level 2]

Ah, splendid! Progress at last!

I kept at it, pushing myself until only two mana remained—just in case some unwelcome guest popped by and I needed to roast a monster or two. Charred beasties are always tastier, after all. Heh. If only I had a pinch of seasoning to really do them justice.

Ah yes, and now I had another skill point to play with! That made two—how terribly tempting. Who wouldn’t want to add a shiny new trick to their arsenal? But alas, I was a pauper in the world of skill points. Advancing my current skills would probably give me more bang for my buck, but argh! It was frustrating! One point felt like nothing in the grand scheme of things, and advancing something like Mana Manipulation or Flamethrower would probably eat up more than I had.

Still, I’d had a stroke of luck earlier, dispatching four of those creepers in quick succession. Yet all I’d earned for my trouble was one paltry level and a single skill point. Unfair, I say! I deserved more—much more.

Sigh. Perhaps I was overthinking it. Best to squirrel one point away for now. No sense squandering all my resources when the unknown loomed ahead in that sprawling, sinister underground forest. Still, if I spent just one, I could make a critical upgrade.

I pulled up my stat screen and gave it a good hard stare.

Name: Jade

Level: 2

Species: Voracious Manaweaver (Draconis) (III)

Abilities: Mana Devourer

Attributes:

* Strength: 19

* Durability: 36

* Intelligence: 44

* Will: 31

* Mana Points: 2/15

* Stamina Points: 21/46

Species Skills:

* Echo Claw Swipe: Level 1 (III)

* Tail Whip: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Roar: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Scale Harden: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Stealth: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Spectral Crunch: Level 1 (III)

* Quick Dash: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Flight: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Deep Breathing: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Air Sense: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Climb: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Crush Claw: Level 5 (I) (+)

* Flamethrower: Level 2 (I)

* Mana Manipulation: Level 2 (I)

Exclusive Skills:

* Transformation: Level 1 (I)

* Lightning Affinity: Level 1 (I)

Mutations:

* Eyes - Focusing Lenses, Peripheral Optimization (III): +0

* Claws - Claw Flexibility, Razor-Edge Claws (III): +0

* Scales - Colour Adaptation, Shock-Absorbent Scales (III): +0

* Wings - Hollow Bones (II): +0

* Legs - Joint Flexibility (II): +0

* Fire Gland - Mana Reservoir, Mana Conservation (III): +0

* Macro-Trophic Sac - Stamina Surge Reservoir (II): +0

* Mana Conduit Vasculature (I): +0

Resources:

* Skill Points: 2

* Morphogens: 7

Time to think! Which of these beauties would give me the best bang for my buck?