Nothing is more rewarding than the act of discovery. Humans are inclined to exploration and curiosity because it gives them purpose. Discovering something, building something, creating something… these are also ways they can gain immortality. Rather than seeking a way to extend their lives, they should seek ways to extend their legacy.
~Morrigan, The Mysterious Goddess of Fate
Roaming the various passageways, Crow didn’t move as cautiously as the others. He wasn’t worried about getting lost because of his Sage’s Mind.
It had been over an hour since he’d last seen anyone, so he felt comfortable about starting his search. He’d also deliberately chosen wide tunnels and massive caverns so he could fully use his Ghost Steps. He’d also practiced Ghostly Visage in his mind repeatedly so that he could use its camouflage function if needed.
There was a side cavern, much smaller than the other ones he’d visited up to this point. The entry was a narrow crevice that was nearly impossible to see unless he came within arm’s length of the wall. None of that really caught Crow’s attention as much as the width and height of the entry. He doubted any of those stone dragons could fit into this place, which meant untouched resources—or so he hoped.
It was the blue glow along the edges of the small cavern that finally convinced him to enter. Stepping through the narrow crack, he immediately felt the ancientness of the place. There was a feeling that nothing entered this cavern in thousands of years, and so it remained undisturbed by man or beast. Or, if this was the forest, it meant that a dangerous predator lived deeper in, and he was walking to his doom.
Staring into the cavern without moving, he noticed a blue glow coming from a type of mushroom—there were at least a dozen. Scanning his memory, he searched through all the resources and quests listed in Shalestone village. After reading through the descriptions of all mushrooms, he let out a sigh. This type of mushroom contained a highly overbearing Frigid Mana. Its glow came from this mana. These were Frigid Nightmare Mushrooms, and a single touch was enough to push him into an enthralled state while the ice slogged its way through his body. The second part of its name came from the spores. They entered the body along with the Frigid Mana, preserving its victim’s mind so that even frozen, they didn’t die. In this state, they could live for dozens of years in a hellish nightmare, all the while the mushrooms could use their body as a source of sustenance—feeding off the negative emotions. These things were terrifying.
So terrifying that Crow checked their worth several times. “Ten coins? How is something like this worth so little?” While he was muttering, he absently put on a pair of thick leather gloves and reached out to pluck one.
*I really don’t want to call you an idiot.* Nin said, and Crow’s hand stopped moving.
*What did I do wrong this time?*
*Do you think you can stop Frigid Mana with plain leather gloves? We aren’t talking about snow or ice, but Frigid Mana, which is a step above either of those. The only way to harvest those is to use an opposing element. If that isn’t clear enough, use Night Fire.*
Crow’s face dropped. She was right, and he knew better, so he didn’t know what he was thinking.
*Spores. It’s using them to mess with your mind.* Nin said upon sensing Crow’s turmoil. As much as she wanted to tease him, these things were extremely dangerous, even to her. *I know you want to use them for coins, but bring a few into your Soulscape and put them on the dark side of your landmass. At their core, the mushrooms are filled with both Earth and Water essence.*
*How? I’ve never tried to bring anything in there. You and Lily both entered on your own.*
*At your level, it usually would be impossible. However, you have a soul flame that is linked to your Soulscape now. Traditionally, you’d have manifested your soul’s power, which is only something those old monsters can do—not even I am at that level yet. Soul flames are like soul power. You just have to surround the mushroom with your Night Fire and then will it into this place.*
*That easy?*
*Idiot. Your Soulscape is like an unborn child, and you have to be careful what you bring into this place. A few mushrooms won’t undo the balance you created. Not to mention the strain it’ll put on you to transfer things here. Your lack of soul power makes this backdoor method dangerous. The things you want to send here most should have rich essence but small in size. The more essence you have, the more you can shape your Soulscape and provide an opportunity to grow your internal realm’s power.*
*Not that I doubt you, but how do you know all this?*
*Hereditary knowledge. I know what my ancestors knew.*
Crow felt this sounded similar to Song Lin’s situation. Her mother created an object that contained all the alchemy knowledge of her predecessors. It was all speculation, but Song Lin’s ancestor may have met with a dragon, which inspired the method she created.
*Get to harvesting.* Nin said, breaking his thoughts.
Crow removed his gloves. Drawing on Night Fire was still an arduous task, and it would have turned his gloves to ash. He could feel the dark flames seeping through his veins—
*You really are hopeless. Do you know have any technique or spell or anything that shows you how to produce fire?*
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*No.* Crow’s face flushed red. *I’m cursed, and learning spells hadn’t been a priority. I know the basics of spell crafting and learned quite a lot about the movement of energy.*
*Okay, I can work with that. I’m going to teach you a simple spell called Flame Sphere. Dragons use this spell across all elements, and it is the groundwork for other more powerful spells, so don’t look down on it.* Nin told him and patiently explained the method of moving mana through the meridians in his arms and hands to transform it into fire mana before expelling it from his body. Crow was nothing if not a quick study, so it only took a few minutes for him to create the sphere. The dark fire gave off a harsh glow that made it hard to stare at for too long. *Good, now practice that for a bit and work on making sure it’s a hollow space. We don’t want to turn whatever is inside into ash. Oh… one more warning. Your Night Fire is a soul flame, so if you attack with it and someone can destroy your attack or dissipate the fire, the backlash will harm your soul. Do not use it rashly.*
Crow had no intention of doing so, after all, soul flames were rare, and people would kill him out of greed just to steal it. So he’d only willingly show it if the situation was dire. Still, Crow liked this minor spell. Despite its simplicity, the intricacies of the sphere’s formation held great insights toward precision. It allowed him to fine-tune it, unlike other spells he’d researched. While he practiced, he simultaneously went over the notes and books he’d memorized on spell crafting. Not only was he improving his proficiency with Flame Sphere, but he was also sorting through theories on spellcraft that aligned with his current practice.
He organized the theories into bad, unknown, and support. He didn’t immediately discount the bad ones, but it’d take time to sort through them to find the underlying wisdom that led to their creation. Before eliminating an idea completely, he felt he needed to understand what created that thought first.
An hour passed, but he had stopped casting the spell for the last fifteen minutes of it. This was so he could recover before attempting to harvest the mushrooms. Once more, he drew out the flame, only this time that black flaming sphere looked almost like tinted glass. Pushing the sphere forward, it opened up like a devouring mouth and swallowed the mushroom and the stone it perched on. Carefully, he drew the sphere back to himself and held it in his hand.
*Now will it into your soul, the sphere will condense on its own but won’t harm what is inside.* Nin practically whispered through their connection, so she didn’t disrupt him. Her thoughts were light, like a gentle caress against his mind.
Crow observed how Nin communicated with him and found the path between him and his Soulscape. Mirroring that connection wasn’t hard, but he had to make a few adjustments because he wasn’t sending the object to her but the Soulscape. Attempting to absorb the Flame Sphere happened at an instinctive level as if his soul knew exactly what to do, and it just needed him to focus on the task.
Sweat beaded his forehead, and it forced him to exert more and more of his Source to force the object to condense and slide through. It was like trying to push the end of a thread through the eye of a needle, and any slight breeze or shake would cause him to miss. The amount of focus was draining him physically, mentally, and spiritually. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized why Nin warned him about sending something too large through. Anything bigger than his fist would have overloaded his soul, and the damage might have been catastrophic.
The moment the Flame Sphere entered his body, it was like it had broken through a barrier and flowed toward his Soulscape unhindered. Not even his Night Flame restricted it, and Crow grinned stupidly when he understood what happened. It was the Flame Sphere. Since it too was made of Night Flame, it was ignored. Nin hadn’t explained everything, but now he understood her guidance. The hardest part was to condense the item, and should he be able to do that, everything else was inconsequential.
*I know what you are thinking. It was easy because your soul flames are currently devouring your soul’s power since it isn’t yet strong enough to resist. The more you shape your Soulscape, the stronger your soul becomes, and this method won’t be as easy. So don’t get cocky or overconfident. Once your soul power is strong enough, forget about moving a tiny mushroom, you could move entire cities into here.* Nin scolded him, and he felt her behavior was odd. She was acting more mature than she had previously. Crow left it alone because he liked this side of her. *Now guide that item to the underside of your landmass and place it in a cave or something.*
Crow grinned because he had a better idea. *How many do you think I can add to this place safely?*
*No more than three.*
Another Flame Sphere appeared, and he harvested all the mushrooms. He put all of them in his ring’s storage, keeping them apart from other items. The last two he also moved into his Soulscape, which forced him to sit and cultivate so he could recover his energy.
Inside his world, he carefully crafted a stone sphere using the essence within his landmass. He hollowed it out and put pin-sized holes across the entire surface. Inside, he stored the mushrooms and sent the sphere into the void at the bottom of his landmass. Its precise location was exactly opposite of the ‘sun’ above the massive oak. They were even equidistant from the landmass itself.
Lily stared at the ‘moon’ he’d created, which now gave off a very faint bluish glow. If it hadn’t resided in complete darkness, it would have been impossible to see the light. Crow looked at the little fae who smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Looking over, he saw Nin and almost panicked.
A green dragon slowly pumped its wings to stay aloft. She wasn’t the owner of this place and was affected by the gravity Crow managed to create. Her body was covered with scales shaped like teardrops and had the look and consistency of actual emeralds. These scales lacked any cloudiness and looked like the purest emeralds Crow had ever seen. Her snout was like that of a lizard and not the elongated shape of an alligator, so her toothy grin was strangely alluring and not as scary.
Crow might have freaked out if he hadn’t seen her eyes. Those golden orbs hadn’t changed, but somehow he felt they were more beautiful. She definitely looked as terrifying as the ancient texts had described. Still, because those golden eyes were filled with radiance and peace, he didn’t fear her at all. Instead, he patted her on the head while avoiding the small, sharp spikes that adorned the crest on her head, they looked like a naturally formed crown.
After that, he left his Soulscape and explored the cavern once more. Minus the three he moved into his Soulscape, he had gained another twelve, so he had a hundred and twenty coins’ worth of resources. After hunting around, he only found one thing of interest. He had been circling the room in a clockwise pattern, so he walked in the other direction on a whim and found a hidden crevice. The way the stones overlapped, he would have missed it had he not walked this way instead.
Curious, he entered and went another hundred meters before he slowed to a halt. It was an instinct honed in the forests around his home, one that warned him of danger. The trick in these situations was not to run but to hold still. Most animals were faster than humans, and running was pointless and gave away your position. Holding still, he controlled his breathing and heart.
The cavern ahead was clearly visible, even without DarkVision. A strong scent of blood stung his nostrils, and the piles of bones that lined the wall weren’t all from beasts. A human skull stared back at him from the stack of bones.