[Avardum: Day 031 | Location: Howling Plains | Marcus, Janel]

Marcus was still reeling from the changes that had been made to himself, his skills, and his abilities. "Let's go over the skills once more, in-depth, please, Aurora.

"Of course, Marcus." She responded and brought up the data he desired.

Dig up dirt, stone, and other things both inside your domain as well as directly adjacent to your domain. All bi-products are deposited into inventory. Leveling this skill will increase the speed and amount of area you can affect at one time. At the third level, this skill can move 3.0 Cubic feet of material directly into storage per minute.

Spawning monsters is inherent to all dungeons, and the spawned entities can be of any number of types for any number of purposes. At the first level, your spawns will have a stat block that is roughly in the 35th percentile, based on your stat block. At the first level, you 5 unique spawn slots. As a combined effect of and , you may summon an unlimited number of common (non-special) spawns, so long as you know the required pattern.

If damage is done to your core, use a specially set aside mana pool to do damage. At the third level, the mana pool is capped at thirty-five thousand Mana.

As a last resort, you can strike at invaders personally. This is not easy, though, as you must solidify Mana into a form that will deal the damage. At the third level, it costs eighty Mana per point of damage you wish to inflict on your target. Also, at the third level, fourteen percent of this damage is unblockable and applied directly.

You are a dungeon core, something beyond a mere mortal. As such, you have the ability to set tasks to be automated. At the first level, you are allowed two automated tasks.

As a dungeon core, even one who retains their memories, communication is difficult for you. You must train this skill if you wish to one day converse once more. At the third level, your communication is limited to basic shapes, such as arrows, being inscribed on floors/walls ahead of time, images, and complex shapes (pictograms). Text and Speech are beyond you.

Temporarily charge objects with mana to strengthen them. At level one, a maximum of three hundred Mana in an item.

Permanently charge objects with mana to strengthen them. At level one, a maximum of one hundred fifty Mana in an item.

Contract a mortal. This skill allows the creation of temporary contracts that behave like quests. It also allows permanent contracts that act as a magical binding of wills.

Change any stone in your influence to the viscosity of mud.

Heat the air around a person or thing by one degree per 10 Mana. At level one, a max of ten degrees.

Cover an object in flames that will not burn the user.

Rupture the ground, bringing forth a small pool of magma. At level one, the pool must the ten square feet or less.

As a Dungeon Core, you are the ultimate scavenger. When something is killed, dies, or is dropped in your Dungeon, you may choose to tag the body, item, or other thing for assimilation. When the tagged entity is not within range of a restricting entity, the System will automatically Assimilate it, allowing you to recreate it for a cost in Mana.

Marcus still was not used to the way that the things he could do were laid out and quantified in such a simple way. He also remembered, however, that he apparently had hundreds of other skills that Aurora managed for him, as they were non-consequential. One example she had given him was a skill simply called, that apparently let him look at his status. It was all very reminiscent of a computer system. He shook his proverbial head. He was getting somewhat distracted. On top of the new skills, levels, and everything he had acquired from the fight, Marcus had gained three key things.

First was the access to Pyroclastic Mana. It was strange. He could feel this mana coursing through the very center of the planet. He also noticed that the deep stairwell he had asked Aurora to dig was allowing some of the natural Pyroclastic Mana to course through his dungeon.

"Aurora, do you have any idea why the mana that courses through a planet would be called 'Pyroclastic' rather than 'Techtonic'?" Marcus asked.

"I thought that was strange as well." Aurora said, "And no, I do not know, but from what we have experienced with the Gods thus far, I am not inclined to ask."

"I second that," Marcus said, then turned to the next major change.

The second thing that he had access to and had been granted rights to, according to the system, was the micro-cano that marked the place where Ged had died. After the fight to balance the mana around it, and survive the onslaught of lava, mana, and who knows what else, Marcus had noticed that he now had an option for special summons. Each of these summons was one of his previously allowed summons, but they would have something called a "Volcano Core" implanted in them, which would give them the ability to use several skills they would not otherwise have.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

On top of the special summon add-ons, Marcus also noticed that this micro-cano, while being 'micro' was for all intents and purposes an active volcano, and as such, he could use it as a source of energy in the form of heat. He and Aurora had discussed several possibilities for this already.

The third thing that Aurora had immediately brought to Marcus's attention were three of the hundred and four items he had been given. The first of note was a material called Cindersteel, and the second was a gummy material called Pyroclastic Resin, and the last was a strange stone object called a Cinder Hearth. The Cindersteel was something that Marcus immediately saw the uses for. It had the strength of steel and was, for all intents and purposes, immune to temperatures. In the Cindersteel description, it simply said, A highly mana-conductive metal that can withstand temperature fluctuations of imense magnitude.

Marcus and Aurora had quickly tested the Cindersteel against Mana stone and found that Mana stone was a better mana conductor, but not by much. The Pyrocclastic resin and Cinder Hearth were opposites. The Resin would take in heat, and Pyrocasltic Mana. to output Mana. The Cinder Hearth would take Mana and output heat and Pyroclastic Mana. On a whim, Marcus had placed a Cinder Hearth next to a small pile of Resin, and they had quickly reached an equilibrium of sorts, maintaining a temperature and ambient mana to Pyroclastic mana balance.

Aurora had then discovered that you could adjust this balance by the amount of Resin that was near the Cinder Hearth, as well as the amount of mana that was 'piped' to the hearth using Mana stone.

The third was knowledge. In going through the battle with Ged's death, The interactions with The Agent, and the Interactions with Ah-Nu, Marcus, and Aurora begin to piece together what they know. Together, they had come to three conclusions.

1. Ah-Nu has competition, and The Agent seems to work for said competition.

2. This world was a battleground between the Gods, and whoever The Agent works for, though why this world is so important it is unknown.

3. Marcus is not a known quality in these battles. How or why this is is a mystery, but for some reason, he can have an impact on these divine and cosmic doings.

Marcus ran all these through his head for the umpteenth time. "Maybe I need to ask Elina or Bellona about it?"

"I don't know that they would give you a straight answer. Remember to them, you are just a strange mortal." Aurora said, and Marcus fell deep into thought. Aurora derailed his train of thought, "Regardless, we need a plan. What are my marching orders, Legatus?"

Marcus flinched; he appreciated the company that Aurora provided, but he sometimes was not prepared for the painful memories the AI-come-Dugeon-Guide molded after his late wife would bring. When he had first gained the title of Legatus, Aurora, the real Aurora, had called him Legatus every chance she got, proud beyond belief in her husband. Marcus clamped down on his emotions. "Right. Plans going forward, it seems to me that even though the system seems to promote downward expansion, if we are meant to be a city for the followers of Elina, maybe we expand downward, creating bunkers, sewers, and various other infrastructures, and use all the materials to build a city on the surface."

Marcus could feel the insane intellect that was Aurora's AI abilities kick into gear as she started speaking. "Using the map as a rough guide to the size of this world, or at least this piece of this world, and estimating the time it took Ged to travel from the volcano to the east to us, estimating his speed based upon the density change in Pyroclastic Mana..."

Marcus lost focus for a moment as Aurora's voice seemed to overlap itself as she performed calculations on data that would be of no use to anyone but an AI. Finally, she spoke. "I would estimate we need to build a city capable of housing no less than 20,000 followers. It is worth noting that it will probably need to be able to defend against a force several orders of magnitude larger."

"So, another swarm. That is rather fitting for me. Very well, Aurora I believe you have the plans used for building the shield cities that the support squadron would build and inhabit?"

"I do."

"Good," Marcus said, an idea dawning on him, "Draw up plans for a non-military version of the city capable of holding twenty-five thousand people. And don't just get rid of the atmospheric concentrator. See if you can adapt the design to purify mana using the materials that we have, and maybe use the Pyroclastic Resin to create a hyper-dense mana chamber... Actually, do that. Maybe we can create the Mana equivalent of a gravity forge to purify the DDP that Ah-Nu left with us. You work on designs, and I will work on excavating as much stone as possible."

"I must remind you that we can summon stone for a reasonable mana cost now," Aurora said, clearly distracted as the vast majority of her ability went to doing as he had asked.

"True, but we depend on the mana we produce to purify the planet, so while we can, I want to use as much natural stone as we can.

"Understood." Was the only response that Marcus got, so he sent his focus underground, and began working on a massive second floor of his dungeon, with high ceilings nearly fifty feet in height.

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Janel was curious. After the battle, everything seemed to fall incredibly still. But as of a few hours ago, She had seen movement. A new room of monstrous proportions was being dug out. Bit by bit, the stone would disappear, and then small bricks of a greyish-black stone would appear on the surface and seem to be outlining a massive structure that would spread well beyond the current walls of the Holy Dungeon.

After a few hours of trying to guess what was happening, and desperately wanting answers, Janel did the one thing she had always done when she needed guidance. Janel prayed. "Goddess Elina, hear the prayer of your humble priestess. Never have I questioned your methods or your requests of me, and I still do not, but I would ask for some clarification of what it is you want me to do? Please, my goddess, grant me knowledge of what you desire for me, and I will make it so. As always now, and forever more, I am your humble servant."

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[Avardum: Day 031 | Location: Divine Realm | Elina]

Elina listened carefully to Janel's prayers, as she always had.

"Goddess Elina, hear the prayer of your humble priestess. Never have I questioned your methods or your requests of me, and I still do not, but I would ask for some clarification of what it is you want me to do? Please, my goddess, grant me knowledge of what you desire for me, and I will make it so. As always now, and forever more, I am your humble servant."

Elina was torn; she needed to communicate with Janel, as well as with Marcus, and she could only do one with the power she had now. "But if I had sanctified ground..."

Elina's voice trailed off. She was acutely aware of the fact that almost all of her sanctified ground had been destroyed and tainted beyond usage. "Maybe Marcus could make some... I mean, he is literally my agent, and there is a high priestess there... I..."

Elina was hesitant to ask this of either of them, as it would draw attention to them, but she remembered what Marcus had said about being a soldier. "Very well, I task you with this, my champion. Fight well."

With that, Elina sent a quest off to Marcus.

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[Avardum: Day 031 | Location: Howling Plains | Marcus, Janel]

Marcus was working when the notification popped up.

[https://bluebox.akmedrah.com/VV_Notification-020.png]

"Aurora," Marcus said after thinking for a moment, "Can we incorporate this quest with the changes in the Atmospheric concentrator?"

Aurora thought for a moment. "Yes, it should not be a problem. I will incorporate what ideology I know, as well as a small shrine for Mars and Bellona."

"Thank you," Marcus said, deep in thought. He wanted Janel to know what was happening as he had seen her praying earlier. He summoned a large chunk of Mana stone and condensed it down as small as it would go, making a cylinder of Dense Manastone roughly eight inches long and three inches in diameter. Then, he used to soften the stone and carve a surprisingly accurate likeness of Elina. Then he used and pumped the maximum of one hundred and fifty Mana into the statuette, making it give off a faint glow of light. Marcus caused the statuette to appear in front of Janel. The woman took one look at the statue and fell to her knees, praying and quietly crying in joy.

Content, Marcus turned back to his task and got to work on building a temple for the Goddess he served.