Chapter 16: Ups and Downs (2/2)
I panted and was jumpy for a minute after that encounter but thankfully we had escaped, relatively unscathed. I checked Fisher's wounds before checking my own. He had lost two fifths of his HP from all the glancing attacks he received while running past the Vorska. We slowly walked back to our safe haven as I read the now incoming messages and damage reports.
[Corruptive Slash received! 5 points of physical and 4 points of poison damage sustained. Avatar body is immune to Undead corruption, poison's added effects rejected!]
"What the fuck!? Vorska are undead? I thought they were like primitive, pygmy troglodytes! This is bad.. We have to seal that cave and watch where we dig from now on! Fisher is everything ok? Are you poisoned?"
"It appears not Master. I have the blessing of being your summoned creature, therefore I must also be resistant to their corruption.".
"Good.. that's good.. At least they can't corrupt you guys and turn us against each other..".
I entered my Dungeon followed by the Dire Cave fishers and Fisher himself. The smaller critters scaled the Entrance Cave walls and scurried back to their hiding places. Fisher now also had more room to move around in. I had expanded all rooms to maximum I was allowed to for my rank, giving them a 20% boost to their size by paying accordingly in Aether points. This allowed me to edit my lair in some ways. Firstly I dug some tunnels that would allow my smaller monsters to move around intruders and ambush them while remaining out of sight. This could also be used as an emergency escape route. Secondly I had more space for subterranean plants, glowing mushrooms and small fauna growth. And finally, with the added space I could allow my monsters to grow into their evolutions without worrying about crowding the tight tunnels with their large forms.
As I entered my Altar, I kept checking any notifications I received. Fisher and I had received quite the bonus to our XP.
[Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.3 defeated! 16xp gained, 10 Aether points and 13 Gold awarded!]
[Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.3 defeated! 16xp gained, 10 Aether points and 13 Gold awarded!]
[Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.2 defeated! 11xp gained, 6 Aether points and 11 Gold awarded!]
[Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.3 defeated! 16xp gained, 10 Aether points and 13 Gold awarded!]
[Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.2 defeated! 11xp gained, 6 Aether points and 11 Gold awarded!]
I got some experience and Aether out of that whole debacle, and possibly the greatest find was the condensed Mana crystal. That and the idea that came with it. Having earth burrowing creepers for neighbors wasn't ideal and as far as I knew, what lie beyond my cave walls was mostly earth.. earth one could dig through. However those things seemed trapped underground so they must not be able to dig through solid stone. I sat under the Altar, my core resting in its designed orifice, pulsed with energy as I concentrated. Placing the Mana crystal in my lap, I closed my eyes and established a connection, starting to draw from its immense power. My Mana swelled like never before. I could feel the notifications pouring in, the Mana points numbers ticking upwards at an amazing rate!
[ Mana points exceeded Avatar's Maximum, 45/36 ]
[ Mana points exceeded Avatar's Maximum, 78/36 ]
[ Mana points exceeded Avatar's Maximum, 142/36 ]
[ Mana points exceeded Avatar's Maximum by 1000%, 362/36. Assimilating excess energy to stabilise the Core. Core's Mana capacity has increased. Avatar's Magic statistic is raised by +1. "Magic - 7 Well Above Average". 182/36 points remaining. ]
I would have celebrated the happy occurrence if I weren't so deep in my meditative state.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Race: Superior Dungeon Core Lv.5
Avatar: Arsani (Hermaphrodite)
Age: 29
HP: 68/95
MP: 182/45
XP: 164/220
Aether: 55
Gold: 96
Physical - 9 (Near Peak)
Mental - 3 (Average)
Social - 5 (Above Average)
Magic - 7 (Well Above Average)
Skills
1) Monster Summoning (Rank 2)
2) Dungeon Manipulation (Rank 1)
3) Aether Cultivation (Rank 3)
Passive Skills
1) Fire Resistance (Rank 1)
2) Natural Allure (Rank 1)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
After that was over, my entire being radiated magical power. I had enough Mana to fulfill my plan and possibly hit that second level of my Dungeon Editing skill. I had decided on reinforcing my dungeon's floors or the foundations even, with hard bedrock! Not only to block those pesky Vorska from tunneling into my domain but also to make the ground steady enough to support any future building endeavours. Having assimilated many kinds of minerals, I could now reproduce them at the cost of Mana. I closed my eyes and imagined my dungeon like a blueprint in my mind. The only thing I needed then was to decide how thick I wanted the foundation to be and starting pouring in the magical energy!
I walked through the caves and the earth literally shook under my feet as my bedrock came into existence, displacing loose earth which I stored in my Dungeon's material inventory for later use. I wished this inventory could be used for anything but sadly it was designed only for building materials of any kind and could only be used while I was inside my domain. Having a magical subspacial Inventory like in RPGs would be OP as hell so I vowed to look into it more, as I grew in levels.
The bedrock I created was from a mixture of minerals that seemed to produce the best ratio of toughness, density and lightweight. For some parts of the caves I even allowed the stonework to be visible by extracting some of the earth covering it and smoothing out the difference. It made it look as if these caves were once halls of some sort of ancient structure, forgotten by time and now reclaimed by nature. I was pleased with the final result and I intentionally sent happy vibes out to all my critters. The small monsters hopped around me happily in a congratulatory fashion, making me smile in embarrassment. Amber Jellies wobbled around, Dire Fishers snapped their pincers and even my Coyotes howled in excitement. At this point I was tapped out, both magically and physically so I just gave in. Sitting down next to my pond I played around with my new family of weird creatures, taking in this happy moment before it slipped away. My Jellies swam around, spraying water all around us, using their bodies as pumps. The Coyotes ran around barking and snipping at them, shaking the water off their fur. The Dire Fishers would have none of it as long as water was involved and just sat by me. I even asked Fisher to come down and spend some time with the rest of us.
"I must kindly refuse Master. I must stand guard. Please take this time to enjoy yourself, I will make sure you and your minions remain undisturbed!" said my dutiful sentinel telepathically from the Entrance Cave. My little guy was taking a hit for the team.. I forgot we always needed someone on watch duty. Living in this dangerous new world was the main reason I hadn't gotten the chance to relax like this in a while. I had to make it up to him later for giving us all this moment of cheer and relaxation. At that moment I got another message from Fisher that made me smile and wait in anticipation. A few minutes later, footsteps could be heard from the upper cave, coming down to where we all were. "My Lady! Look at you, playing like a child with their pets! I forget how strong you are when I see you being so laid-back.." exclaimed Sumire while approaching, a broad smile adorning her face. She wore a new white dress with a leather chest guard and bracers, similar in appearance with my own. "Hush now child, tis not our place to judge the Lady! Greetings Master! We have returned." continued Fatna after giving her daughter a stern look.
Sumire smiled at me after getting scolded and I had to fight back the urge to give her a knowing smile in return. "Im back too Master! I did good! Very good!! I'm so happy to see you!! Are you happy to see me?!" I suddenly heard in my head, as a crimson furred wolf came running at me, jumping up and down enthusiastically! The overgrown puppy had been sent to protect the two women and hadn't seen me for almost a week. I stood and gave Fiona the attention she craved with pets and scratches. "Welcome home.." I said to my two subordinates. Fatna and Sumire had ultimately decided to stay. It would seem that giving them everything they needed to run away had ironically inspired loyalty. Enough of it in fact for the pair to actually consider staying with me. Temporary accommodations had to be made of course, with the promise of something better once I had the power to create more rooms.
I had sent the mother and daughter out on their first mission which was to scout the Great Plateau for any potential dangers or remaining Dune Raiders. Fiona was tasked with keeping them safe and considering she had gained 3 levels and some extra XP I already knew that something must have happened. "My Lady.." Fatna finally piped up. "Over the side of the Plateau, almost at the top.. we spotted something. It was a nest of sorts! Two chicks came out of it, almost as big as grown men! We ran and the wolf.. I mean Fiona, managed to kill one of them but she was badly injured. We took the whole morning, licking our wounds in order to make it back in one piece.".
A giant bird was nesting over our heads while undead burrowed beneath our feet? The problems just seemed to keep pouring in. At least.. I wasn't alone any more, I thought as my allies and monsters surrounded me, waiting to hear what would our next move be.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone