"Apocalyptic energy signatures."
The Reality Geomid floated into an open field littered in corpses and twisted by magical backlashes. It immediately began the automatic process of purging the latent corruption in the soil and the air, while configuring itself to fight the abominations before it. First a wave of dimensional isolation flowed out to try and break the magical web linking the creatures together.
If it had emotions it would have been frustrated as the magic stubbornly kept the creatures connected in their hivemind. They staggered back from the effect, but despite isolating the magic connecting them with a several thin reality layers, the bonds remained through hormonal and other methods of transmitting information.
"Multiple vectors, not feasible to remove. Adjust strategy."
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* Congratulations: Your Acolyte Zilla has invented the first unique miracle of your faith. Your Mastery attribute has increased to 13
* Miracle: Ceremony of the Singular Vessel, has been created.
* Ceremony of the Singular Vessel: An faithful of the Sovereign Swarm can imbue a vessel so it can contain majesty of a Collective mind. Through the vessel it can act on the scope of an individual and use abilities it normally cannot.
* Congratulations: You have reached Tier 6.
* Title: Adventurer: You are an Adventurer an explorer of the unknown and a conquerer of Dungeons and monsters alike. Your Subjects and Units are more effective when combating monstrous creatures, and develop abilities more rapidly in Dungeons.
Mar was still reeling from feeling her Avatar die when the system prompt appeared before their "eyes." They had been busy trying to examine the nature of their being, a kind of meditation to let them truly see the foundations of the Swarm itself when the titanic weight of Nasi's first death hit them like a truck.
A spiritual weight akin to having a large Collective purged was lifted from the Swarm, and Mar could not help but be shook by the experience. The eyes of the Swarm were on that accursed Dungeon. Plants for miles had twisted towards it, fliers were sent towards it and Mar was in the process of ordering the Antmite General to send an army to level the Dungeon when the notification had appeared.
"Interesting."
They said as the implications of this sudden level up passed through them. Maybe there was an answer in this for why Mar's growth in power had been stymied. The barriers around the Dungeon made it impossible for Mar to study this newly developed Miracle, but once the it was out they were going to be quite intrigued by seeing how it worked and how quickly their other Acolytes and Faithful could learn it.
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"We're in trouble."
Mariam concluded as she saw the strange white orb pulsate and glow after having been hit by ten simultaneous spells without developing as much as a crack. Fire, heat, and lava hit it and the orb seemed to have absorbed the attacks if nothing else. Her Fragment screamed in protest and fear at the strange thing, and her instincts as an Adventurer told her that this foe was more dangerous than anything else that they had seen in this horrific place.
Soldiers rushed in to fight and almost as quickly were dispatched. The initial attack by the thing had quiet Waverly in their minds, her presence muted and their Fragments aching it made the Units sluggish and disorganized in their attacks. It had pierced a single Soldier with some kind of protusion and since then it launched rapid attacks that caused them to rapidly wither and die.
"Child launch projectiles. Bor, Lysander see if you can't create something like that clay thing again. Zilla if you have a miracle for us now is the time."
Mariam quickly barked out orders to her closest companions as she prepared to shield them with her body if necessary. The orb did nothing except continuing to annihilate the Soldiers, but that in itself was a clue. Magical attacks were defended against and it rapidly darted away from Fungal Zombies and the Subjects trying to reach it in melee.
"It's....like a immune cell."
Waverly whispered in the minds of her component parts.
"Eh...what?"
Mariam tried to question the sluggish Collective but it was far from an efficient process. So she replied only after ten more Soldiers had been killed by the pellet attacks from the alien orb.
"It learns about one foe...and makes something to target them specifically. But it can't target multiple foes at once."
Waverly tried to explain and transfer alien concepts to Mariam, but she shrugged them off and focused on the essential message.
"So it needs to attune itself, got it. Zilla make the Soldiers retreat a step. I have a plan!"
Mariam so said before she bull rushed towards the glowing orb like she were leading a desparate army charge.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
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Flkarblik finally made the Dungeon core relent after having consumed large sections of it's memories since entering this world as a punishment for trying to hold him still, when Estiella made him notice the situation unfolding in the large field.
"The dimensional defender is engaging the intruders...and both seem to be losing."
Her yellowed teeth glistened as she grinned up at him. The little pixie hand rubbed against his protoplasmic ooze and he immediately understood what she desired.
"Which means we can stay, but that presumes the orb is destroyed. If it remains even while weakened I won't risk it harming us for real."
Flkarblik concluded as his gaze rested on the battle and not on the moth fluttering out of the chamber. Infecting him with the taint of the Sovereign Swarm that was now being accelerated by the reserves of energy that Waverly still possessed. Even the ethereal parasites residing in his own body were being turned, but unfortunately his senses were dulled by being joined with the Dungeon. So both were being turned without either parties noticing that fact.
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It all came down to switching. The Swarm switched their forces in and out so the Reality Geomid could not properly adapt to fight them. Whenever, it attuned itself to one type of Swarm spawn, those spawn retreated only for another type to come in to distract it.
While it could shrug off magic and the pathetic attempts to infect and corrupt it, physical force and numbers were enough that it could eventually be whittled down. Especially when corrupted Dungeon creatures joined in to attack it as well. The lesser reality defender was thus destroyed after a long and tedious struggle with a final smack from the formerly human woman who hit it with her reinforced fists.
And with it's death the Dungeon fell as well as the released energies from it's body accelerated the corruption spreading through the Tearmaker and the Dungeon core.
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* Subject Added: Swarmsworn Dungeon(1)
* An infected Dungeon has been subverted using unnatural temporary biology as a vector for infection.
* Congratulations: You have consumed a source of Apocalyptic energy and a shard of a conquest seed both. This will enhance your attributes and abilities alike.
* Trait: Adaptable has evolved to trait: Metamorphic: The limtiations of your adaptations has been tied to energy consumption rather than per-day uses. Your Units will slowly adapt to new environments and stimuli to become better suited to them, the more needed the change the more quickly they will manifest.
* Potency has increased from 14 to 17
* Power: Make Mah Field has been enhanced. Enhanced fields will now include naturally occuring agricultural plants producing food in addition to the usual effects.
* Congratulations: You have reached tier 7- tier 8-........tier 14.
* Warning: Abnormal growth detected due to consumption of another Conquest Seed
* Notice: Interface has absorbed and repaired the damaged Soul Guidance System of your meal: Soul Warden Pixie, subroutine: Guardian Pixie Estiella has been added.
* Trait: Dimensional Senses: You can sense fluctuations in your dimension and nearby sources of otherwordly energies. Has been Gained.
* Trait: Exploding Swarm: Members of the Swarm can self-detonate if they are ordered to/choose to do so. Has been Gained.
* Trait: Enhanced Aura: Members of the Swarm with aura abilities have them enhanced. Has been Gained.
* Power: Camuflage: Units can be made almost invisible with an expenditure of energy. Has been Gained.
* Power: Strenghten Unit: Units can be made stronger and faster for a time. Has been Gained.
* Power: Miracle: Barrier of Faith: You can transform faith into a mystical barrier to protect targets from harm. Has been Gained.
* Unit Type Discovered: Flesh Bug
* Flesh Bugs are a support unit created meant to serve as reservoirs of biomass and food. They can either be used as batteries or as an agricultural food source without harming the Swarm.
* Subject Type Discovered: Blood-Thorn Vampires
* Blood-Thorn Vampires are a hybrid Subject discovered from the interactions between abyssal plants, blood thorns conjured by a Dryad, and corrupted otherwordly temporal magics. Blood-Thorn Vampires are living plants who consume blood and serve as excellent commanders. Their abilities are derived from Enhanced Aura trait, along with Unit Sacrifice, Strengthen Unit, Camuflage, and the Reinforce Unit powers.
Mar was practically rendered unconcious from the tidal wave of power, information, and perspectives as the Dungeon was suddenly consumed and added to her Swarm along with rejoining with Adventurer....Waverly and her component Units. Memories, new power, and more flooded into the Swarm and the Sovereign finally meaningfully grew. And if the world noticed...well then the world quailed as Mar once more became...more.
* Power: Create Proto-Dungeon: You can create psuedo-dungeons to serve a specific purpose. Has been Usurped.