What is life?
Is it our memories that define us? Or is it our bodies, that we use, fight and die with? What is even existence?
This type of questions rolled down on my mind, while I watched the ghouls eating.
We reach the 10th floor after a month or so. Tracking time is difficult in this place and my biological clock wasn’t working, since I never slept. Food was not a problem, I eat the mana of the floors, turning them into my domain.
I gained aces to all the previous floors, gaining more and more subject. I left the freshly turned ones behind, to protect us and having an army following me is too weird for my taste.
I had only one problem. The deeper we go, the stronger the mana got, making it harder to digest. I could feel it, slowly killing me from the inside. It was clever, diluting me with his own power and ending me. A prof of intelligence if you ask me.
The only way that I could bear with it was something that made me shiver.
Cannibalism.
Hardcore cannibalism.
Let me paint you a picture.
I was diluting my mana slowly with the dungeon's, weakening me. By absorbing my creations, which contained 100% pour mana that came from me, I could suppress the pain. Since some of them were damaged or rotten to the point where I couldn’t use them for fighting, it was more of recycling than anything.
I was doing this right now. The monster waves intensified with each floor, destroying my warriors each time. The floor itself didn’t really change, it was the same stone maze with lanterns and everything. Yet, the enemies were much different.
Slimes.
Trash monsters that are usually the first enemy in a game. Well in this world these guys are nightmares. They were slimy, brown and corrosive. One-touch and you’re dead.
My ghouls and golems protected me the best they could and yet, they melted one after other like ice-cream in summer.
[10th been corrupted.]
[10th floor has been detached from the dungeons the main system]
[10th floor added to the domain.]
[Corruptions have spread]
[76%]
“Finally.”
Like on the other floors the surrounding monsters dropped like puppets without strings, creating pounds of fuming acids.
“Phew… I thought I will die!”
I was eating the floors mana for at least a week. It was troublesome.
[Master, I believe that we should retreat before we get killed.]
Foxy, or Vuk as she started to call herself appeared from her hidey-hole and went back around my neck.
“…No, we are close to the bottom. We only descend one more floor and if we don’t reach the end, we’ll turn back.”
[...If we die, I only want to say I warned you.]
I absorbed the energy from the one’s too damaged to be used and repaired the others with their parts. I have done this a tone of times since we descended this place. Most of my original companions were dead, like my chimaera wolf. I also used parts from the killed monsters on them. Some of them had increase muscles or extra limbs, giving them a pretty cool look.
The only one that pretty much stayed the same was my insane rabbit that was able to stay in one piece for some reason.
Even the mage that I caught has changed. Some sort of cocoon has enveloped his body, pulsing a faint blue light. Sometimes I could see that something was moving, so it was alive, but it made really difficult to carry.
We left behind the carriage because of the stairs lead to the next level. In case, it was repurposed as a barricade if something followed. It might be paranoia, it felt like I was watched all the time. Still, I placed also guards at every entrance, each modified in a different way.
‘Hehe, try following me now!’
[Title received: [Paranoid Maniac]]
‘…I can’t say anything about this.’
The next floor was different.
A huge door booked our path where we arrived.
“…A boss room?”
Like in games, there are areas in dungeons we’re a monster stronger than the others lives. We meet one before on the 5th floor. It was an extremely overgrown goblin with full plate armour and a magic sword. The armour protected it from collapsing the I overtook the floor making us fought it. It was the first time that I fought since I came here. It was a hard fight, my opponent made me realise that I had a long way to go.
In the end, it was defeated, I reanimated it and made him one of my subordinates that is still with me, even in his poor state.
The doors slowly opened. It had the same design as the previous one, an arena made out of stones.
The only difference was that in place of a door that should lead us to the next floor, a green crystal ball was floating emitting a gloomy light.
[HOW DARE YOU!!!]
A new voice ranged in my head and it didn’t sound happy.
[YOU TOOK AWAY MY FLOORS, YOU BASTARD! I WILL KILL YOU!]
“…For your govern, they were quite simple- ‘
[WHAT?!]
A wave of murderous intent washed by us, chilling me to the bones.
[YOU DARE, A SIMPLE HUMAN, TO JUDGE MY DUNGEON! I WILL KILL, I WILL KILL YOU, I WILL…WAIT WHAT HELL IS MY OGER IS DOING WITH YOU?!]“
Oger? You mean this guy?”
I pointed to the big guy behind me.
[WHO ELSE?! WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING WITH YOU? HEY, YOU HEAR ME? KILL THEM!!!]
The big guy didn’t do anything and just moaned.
“Eh well… he sorta …joined us?”
[WHAT THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?! I MADE HIM, WHY WOULD HE OBEY AN INFERIOR LIFE FORM! ANSWER ME HUMAN!]
“Hey now, you don’t need to be so angry. I’m not even a human in the first place!”
[HOW CAN I BE NOT ANGRY! YOU, LITERALLY, CHOPPED OF PARTS OFF MY BODY AND MADE THEM YOUR OWN! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT HURTS?!]
"In fact, yes I do-“
[SHUT UP!]
[Eh, master I believe it would be wise not to anger further the big floating core that is about to kill us.]
“Hey, it started it!”
[ME?! YOU WHERE THE ONE WHO ENTERED ME AND DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!]
“Yeah, well… you attacked us!”
[THIS IS A DUNGEON GENIUS! WHAT DID YOU THOUGHT, I WILL JUST LET YOU STROLL IN, TAKE EVERYTHING AND SEND YOU OF WITH A POSTCARD?!]
“EH, it’s true, but…”
[You two are like a newlywed couple…]
“[SHUT UP!]!”
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A magic circle appeared on the floor. From it, something that really looked like a dragon emerged. Its body was covered in crimson scales and his eyes were glowing yellow. Even from where I was standing I could tell that this creature was intelligent. Intelligent and strong.
[FELL HONORED, THIS IS MY STRONGEST MONSTER! IT WILL MAKE YOU TE-]
“Who are you?”
It talked. The giant reptile talked.
“Where am I? I remember flying over a mountain and then a white light- “
[IT WAS I, WHO SUMMONED YOU! OBEY MY ORDERS AND KILL THEM ALL!]
The dragon turned around and snored when it saw the core.
“A low-level core summoned me? Good jock!”
[BUT I DID!]
“Whatever. I will kill you all anyhow since you interrupted me in my search. Any last words?”
“Hold on a second? We didn’t do anything!”
The dragon lowered its head and looked at me with its crimson eyes.
“A human? No, you smell… rotten. An intelligent undead perhaps? What is your race?”
“Eh, Mana Feaster?”
Hearing this the dragon felt silent, then started to shine in a bright light. When I was able to see again in the place of the giant lizard stud a man wearing a red military uniform.
“Thank gods I found you! What a luck being summoned at the exact place where the person I’m looking for!”
“You were looking for me?”
“Yes! I have it here somewhere…Ah!”
He took out a piece of paper, the handed over to me.
“The council wish to talk to you in a later date. Please answer to this later when you are not busy.”
“The council? … Excuse me who are you?”
“Yes, pardon my rudeness. My name is Antony, one of the youngest children of the Dragon Elder. I was sent here to give you this letter. I must admit sir, you do really look like a human. If not for your smell I could never believe that you were a monster like me.!
“…Do I really smell that much?”
I hadn’t taken a bath since I was burned by the king. Being with dead all the time didn’t seem to help.
“N-No of course not! Anyhow please answerer to the invitation as soon as possible.!”
“Answer… How?”
“Don’t worry! The paper is magical! You only need to write your answer at the backside of the paper and it will be sent! Now that it’s done how do I get back?”
“I believe you should ask the floating ball behind you.”
The core, that we completely ignored floated in the aire, silent.
[…I USED UP ALL MY ENERGY THAT I ACCUMULATED FOR THIS?]
It was completely destroyed emotionally. The green light it was emitting a why ago has considerably died down.
Being someone who played gatcha, I could relate to the sensation.
“You can also leave by the way we came. There are some monsters on the way so be careful.”
“Ah, thanks. Then, see you later.”
He bowed down before me before he hurriedly left the place.
“Now then, I suppose that it’s time to get down to business.”
[…WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?]
“Isn’t it obvious?”
I walked in front of the core and placed my hands on it.
The whole thing was made out of condemned mana, from the purest quality I ever saw.
I slowly started to absorb and release my mana. Then a wave of pure mana washed through me.
[DO YOU SERIOUSLY BELIEVE THAT I WILL JUST LET YOU EAT ME! IN YOUR DREAMS!]
The intensity kept on growing, tearing me up from the inside.
“Ugh… two can… play this game!”
I connected myself with every monster in this room absorbing their energy, restocking myself.
[Alert!]
[Mana purity have fallen 50%]
[Forceful activation of skill [Overload]]
The mana that I absorbed started to be converted into raw power, yet it wasn’t enough, the mana was still destroying my body.
“[Void Magic]!”
It was a wast, bit I was out of option. Half of the absorbed magic was dumped into my black hole. It also doubled my effectiveness, speeding up the process
[WHY?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THI?!]
“Why? Well… I don’t really know myself. Maybe for revenge?”
To tell the truth, I wasn’t angry. Don’t get me wrong I will pay back the king for the things he has done to me, yet I wasn’t enraged.
The only thing I wanted right now is power.
I admit, when I tasted how it feels like commanding others, I knew that I couldn't stop. Then when I descended to this place, the feeling became stronger.
I want to create more of my own race, yet all my experiences lead to failure. The only conclusion I could arive is that I was weak.
I needed power.
A power that can make me a king!
[[Overload] and [Void Magic] reached Lv:3]
[[Overload] and [Void Magic] reached Lv:4]
[[Overload] and [Void Magic] reached Lv:5]
[WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STOP IT!]
[[Overload] and [Void Magic] reached Lv:6]
[[Overload] and [Void Magic] reached Lv:7]
[IM CONNECTED TO THIS LANDS MANA RESERVE! IF YOU KILL ME-]
A new wave came breaking my concentration. This caused my black hole to disappear. Yet I wasn't bothered by it and continued.
[[Overload] reached Lv:8]
[[Overload] reached Lv:9]
[… YOU FOOL.]
[[Overload] reached Lv: MAX]
[[Overload] is now capable of converting mana into EXP]
[##### EXP earned]
[Condition for evolution completed]
[Commencing evolution…]
*****
If they had to choose a day, when everything started, when the whole world became dark, this must be a day. When all living things, big or small, human or other, felt the cold air. An air that even made the gods shiver.
At that day, every intelligent thing looked at the same direction even those who couldn’t use magic.
It was the day when the monster of monsters was born.
*****
(Celestial Realm)
A group of people were sitting around a table, watching a holographic projection, showing the map of the whole country. In the middle part, there was a black mark that started to spread slowly.
The first to talk was an old man, dreaded in the fanciest clothing.
“This is a disaster. How can things escalate so fast?”
“If I may, my king, I may have an answer. You see Somnus over here have given his blessing to a mortal. This caused abnormalities in the mortal's body, transforming it-“
“Wait for a holly second, why this is my fault!?”
The handsome young man and the sleepy-looking Somnus cleared at each other causing sparks to fly between them. Literally.
“Stop, you two or I will throw you into a volcano. Somnus, did you really gave your blessing do someone?”
“…Yes.”
The atmosphere in the room became gloomy and a beautiful woman facepalmed herself.
“Somnus you are an idiot.”
“Shut up Pandora, I haven’t given my blessing for a millennium at least.”
“You didn’t give your blessing for a millennium because it’s outrageous. ‘The ability to turn dreams into reality'. What is it if not overpowered!?”
Each god can give blessings to mortals, each with a different effect. Blessing from a fire or water god enhances the aptitude for that element. From warier or hunter god, the physical aptitudes are enhanced. Each one has a different effect that comes with some sort of limitation, booking them to become omnipotent.
Only Somnus has the ability to give blessing without limitation, creating outrageously powerful people. His personnel blessing allows the user to turn events from dreams into reality. It can also create skills and object from thin air, making it in pair of creation magic, one of the rarest forms of magic.
“B-But I have already taken it away so there is no problem, right?”
“You really are a fool. Taking it away now won’t change the matter at hand. You screwed up big time.”
“Well, he and those two shrimps at the reincarnation department. What we will do about them?”
“They, only did their job, Hep. They couldn’t possibly know that one broken soul could cause all this."
“What about me?!”
“You shut up!”
“Guys, you should probably see this.
The screen changed and a list appeared on it.
________________________________________________________________________________
System notification
New race confirmed.
Race details implemented into the catalogue.
Due to race characteristics, new magic has been implemented into the system: [Void Magic]
Current members of the race:
[Feaster Ghoul]
[Feaster Familiar]
[Feaster Golem]
[Feaster Chimera]
[Mana Feaster]
New member is under loading...
________________________________________________________________________________
Everyone in the room looked at the screen with wide eyes.
“This… is getting worse and worse. Soil, can this world handle a change of this magnitude?"
At the words of the old man, a brown-haired man shaped his head.
“I’m afraid not my king. This world is still too fresh, it does not process enough stability to withstand something like this. I recommend the complete eradication of this menace.”
“Wait, you want to destroy a new race? Isn’t that something that we agreed not to do?”
Sert, so that this world can develop they made a pact that they may not interfere too much with the life of its habitats.
“Then what about the decedents of the heroes? They are strong, killing this fool will be a piece of cake for them!”
“For once I’m with Aries. If they kill it we became praised and if they die trying the mortals will implore us for help. In any case, we gain some believers. In the worst-case scenario, we can also send actual heroes from our stocks.”
The old man raised his hand and the one speaking silenced itself.
“I understand. Send messengers to the church. Also, order those two to prepare some heroes for reincarnation, in case. Pandora you will establish contact with this new race, see if you can resolve this situation without bloodshed.”
Pandora bowed and disappeared in thin air.
Biip! Biip!
The screen changed again and a new text appeared.
________________________________________________________________________________
New member been loaded.
New member set as leader of the race.
New member name has been set as…
[Feaster King.]
________________________________________________________________________________