I watched the mana crystals and the mana around me, expanding my understanding.
--------------------------------------------
Available Mana: 24 → 144
Available Essence: 15.7 → 21.2
Total Essence Absorbed: 46.5 → 50/ 100
Analysis: 26% → 100%
Acquired Material - Mana Crystal
--------------------------------------------
I had finally reached the halfway point in my total essence absorbed. After twenty cycles, I had finally finished analyzing the Mana Crystals.
What happens when I reach 100 total essence?
I thought for a moment, then opened my material screen and checked the price.
--------------------------------------------
Materials:
Stone - 1 essence per 1 m³
Dirt - 1 essence per 1 m³
Water – 1 essence per 1 m³
Luminous Moss – 1 essence per 10 m²
Mana Crystal - 2 essence, 20 mana per crystal
--------------------------------------------
It was expensive, but I could afford it.
More mana...
It will pay for itself...
I looked at the cave with the mana crystals. I focused for a moment before four new ones began to form. They grew out of the stone, shining brightly. I watched as more mana began to flow into the room.
Available Essence: 21.2 → 13.2
Available Mana: 144 → 64
Passive Mana: 6 → 10 / Cycle
My core pulsed. I could generate more mana.
Each one generates one mana per cycle...
Twenty cycles, and I get the mana back from it.
But not the essence.
Essence is more valuable.
Over the twenty cycles, I had my mole dig six one-metre-deep holes within the original cave. Each one took three cycles, but since they were holes, I didn't have to claim them, so they were free.
My original cave was still my largest room, and it connected directly to my core chamber and mana supply. If something dangerous entered through there, it could reach everything important.
I don't like that.
I didn't make them into spike traps because I want to use them for experimentation later.
Examining my territory, my core pulsed as I realized how everything had grown. My creatures wandered around or worked; my rooms had life in them, and I was gaining more resources every cycle.
This is different...
Before, it was just my core.
Now there are creatures... Rooms... Mana.
My dungeon is growing.
I am growing.
Looking around, my core pulsed.
Nothing has happened recently.
I opened my structures.
--------------------------------------------
Structures:
Tunnel - 1 Essence Per Meter
Basic Chamber - 8 Essence
Entrance - 5 Essence
Core Pedestal - 20 Essence
Basic Pit – 1 Essence Per Meter
Water Pit – 2 Essence Per Meter
Passage — 0.5 Essence/m
Claim Excavated Passage — 0.2 Essence/m
--------------------------------------------
Entrance.
What does an entrance do?
I need to put it somewhere...
I need space.
I watched the mole dig the seventh hole in the original cave.
Stop.
It tilted its head slightly before hopping out of the half-dug cave. I looked at one of the walls that hadn't been touched yet.
Dig there.
The mole rushed over and started to break away at it. I watched as pieces of stone fell to the floor.
Now I wait.
The mole spent fifteen cycles mining; my rat squeaked at it as it did. The creature seemed to be supporting the mole.
Available Essence: 13.2 → 15.7
Total Essence Absorbed: 50 → 51/ 100
Available Mana: 64 → 214
The five passages were complete, and I had to claim them. But since this was my entrance, I upgraded them to tunnels.
Available Essence: 15.7 → 12.2
Controlled Territory: 50m → 55m
The stone shifted as I did, turning smooth; the walls became stone bricks, and the roof even transformed, gaining braces that made it sturdy. Two torches lit the tunnel, and orange flames flickered.
The mole began to dig the sixth segment, but as its claws struck the stone, the wall collapsed, opening into a massive cave. This cave was even larger than the cave I had awakened in. As I examined it, I felt multiple creatures rush forward towards the tunnel. My mole hissed as it sensed the same thing.
From within the darkness, four rats rushed out. I examined each one as they charged at my mole.
Cave Rat — Lv3
Cave Rat — Lv2
Cave Rat — Lv2
Cave Rat — Lv1
They jumped up at my mole and began to bite it. My mole growled as it swung its claw. The rats avoided the attack and struck once again. My mole fell back, overwhelmed. It clawed at the one closest to it and killed it instantly, but the other three pounced on it.
Essence Absorbed: +4
Available Essence: 12.2 → 16.2
Total Essence Absorbed: 51 → 55/ 100
Sensing that my mole was in danger, I commanded the rat to help it. My rat dashed through my territory and made it just in time. It jumped up and pinned one of the hostile rats against the ground. With one of the threats gone, my mole slashed at one that was biting its stomach.
The rat tried to jump out of the way but was too late; the rat was struck hard and thrown into the wall. A moment later, its body dissolved into golden light.
Essence Absorbed: +2
Available Essence: 16.2 → 18.2
Total Essence Absorbed: 55 → 57/ 100
The rat my rat had pinned squirmed under its weight. My rat bit into it, making it squeak loudly; with a final twist, the rat below it stopped moving before turning to light. The final rat jumped off the mole and ran toward the tunnel, making it to the end, where it saw my mole dashing after it. Running at full speed, the creature didn't notice the hole in front of it and tumbled into it. Squeaking, it hit the ground; it looked up, panic in its eyes.
My mole looked into the hole and smiled. It jumped down, and in the next instant a golden light floated up from within the hole.
Essence Absorbed: +2
Essence Absorbed: +1
Available Essence: 18.2 → 21.2
Total Essence Absorbed: 57 → 60/ 100
I looked at the hole as my mole climbed out of it.
The hole worked...
Even without spikes.
Maybe traps don't always need to kill.
I focused my attention back on the room. It was massive; it was at least a few hundred meters wide. Along its walls, massive holes spread out in every direction. Each was about fifty meters wide. With my controlled territory only being fifty-five meters, I could only sense fifty-five meters into the massive cave. But there was something in there... It was big...
The cave rumbled as something moved within it. It got closer and closer; from within the darkness, a massive head broke through. Its body moved like a serpent wrapping around itself. Its scales were pitch black, seeming to absorb any light that touched them and make the cave even darker, and its deep red eyes seemed to burn with a hungry flame.
Its teeth were dark, and as it opened its mouth, a terrifying darkness seemed to swirl. It was endless...
This creature...
Is something that I can't even comprehend...
It roared, and I felt the whole world shake. My mole backed away in fear. My rat bounced up and down within my territory. I felt as rocks cracked within me.
It is... Unbelievable.
I slowly shifted my senses to examine it, afraid it might notice.
As I observed, I felt my core tremble. The creature seemed to stare at me even though I had no body to stare at. Something ancient flowed into me. Pain shot through my entire being; I focused on my core and watched as its blue colour faded. My core began to transition to pitch black. My mind went blank for a moment.
--------------------------------------------
New Mana Affinity Discovered: Abyssal
Mana Connection Forcefully Established
Abyss World Activated
--------------------------------------------
I could feel it... Something was taking over; the blue mana within began to turn black, absorbing all the light. I watched as my core changed, the abyss taking over.
My mole and rat fell to the ground, writhing.
What is happening?
This feeling.
I am changing.
This creature.
Is changing me.
Fighting through the pain, I focused on the creature.
--------------------------------------------
Abyssal Leviathan
Level: ???
Tier: ???
Template Analysis: 0%
Dungeon Sense Lv1→ Lv2
Abyss Sense Lv1 Acquired
--------------------------------------------
My core trembled as my senses suddenly expanded. I looked at the creature, which looked back. Its body didn't move, its crimson eyes watching me.
I can feel it...
I can see it...
The Abyss...
It was everywhere.
Suddenly the creature roared again, before its head fell to the ground. Its body slithered towards my tunnel. I watched as more of its body came from the darkness, following its head. Its head reached the end of the cave; it lowered its eyes to look into the tunnel. My mole, recovering from the abyssal mana invasion, trembled as the creature's eye was ten times larger than it was.
It moved its eye and opened its mouth; my mole rushed back into the original cave. But it did not attack; instead, a fog began to enter the tunnel. From within that fog, and emerging from the abyss of its mouth, a large pitch-black egg appeared. The egg floated out of the creature and into the tunnel, scratching at the top. I watched the creature's eyes...
It was afraid...
But happy.
The egg entered the original cave, and the monster closed its mouth. The black fog vanished, and the egg buried itself in one of the holes that I had created, half of it in the ground, half of it sticking out.
The monster roared, and my walls trembled again. I felt the mana within the world shift before beginning to shake violently. All of them turned pure black and began moving towards the creature. My senses in the massive cave were pushed back as darkness overwhelmed them. The creature screamed out as the abyss surrounded it... The abyss squeezed the creature tighter. The monster roared again as the abyss devoured it.
The massive cave vanished, replaced by dark, regular stone.
Where did the massive cave go?
Was it even there to begin with?
Suddenly, my core pulsed as a tidal wave of essence entered me.
This essence is different... It feels like a never-ending abyss.
It shot through my territory, spreading through every crack, then suddenly it all gathered into a massive ball above the egg.
No...
I wasn't absorbing it...
No!
I want it!
I tried to reach out, but it did not listen. It was like it already had a set destination. The essence exploded down into the egg. I watched as the endless essence poured into it. I trembled as the egg vibrated, its black shell darkening even more.
Why?
It's being fed...
By the essence that came from the thing that made it.
Did the Abyssal Leviathan use itself as food...
Why?
I thought of it in its last moment before disappearing into the abyss. It was scared, but also so happy.
You did it because it was yours?
Just like how the rat is mine...
And how the mole is mine...
The rage of essence quieted. The egg became still. My world had changed.
I examined the egg; I could tell that it swelled with essence.
--------------------------------------------
Abyss Wyrm Egg
Species: ???
Level: Unborn
Condition: Developing
Abyssal Saturation: ???
Hatch Progress: 0.1%
--------------------------------------------
It was given to me...
I feel connected to it.
I want it to grow.
I watched the egg, but nothing changed. Looking around, I noticed that my territory seemed naturally darker; even where the torches shone, a hint of darkness entangled the flame. I was full of abyss mana; the regular blue mana had completely disappeared, and even as new mana entered my territory, it was converted into abyss mana instantly.
I pulled some of it in and found it to be twice as hard to convert the mana into the other types.
Wait...
Basic Ice Passage - 6 Mana / Cycle
→
Basic Ice Passage - 12 Mana / Cycle
The cost to make increased...
The ice passage had increased in price...
But what if it wasn't ice?
Focusing on the passage connecting to the crystal room, I controlled the abyss mana before dispersing it into the passage. The walls darkened; the air thickened; the passage seemed to distort slightly.
Available Mana: 214 → 211
--------------------------------------------
Structure Acquired: Basic Abyss Passage
Basic Abyss Passage
Tier 1
Abyssal Distortion: 20%
Upkeep: 3 Mana / Cycle
Tier 2 - 6 Mana / Cycle
Convert To Tunnel - 2.5 Essence
--------------------------------------------
It's half the price of the original ice passage.
My mana manipulation with the other types got worse...
But my abyss mana control is twice as effective.
The passage was unique; I sent in my rat but noticed that it wasn't affected.
It knows what creatures are mine...
Focusing, I forced the passage to take effect on the rat. I watched through its eyes and felt what it felt.
The passage looked much longer than it should have.
As it walked, the rat grew uneasy; the passage was unnaturally dark, and in the corner of its vision, small dark figures danced, but whenever it looked, they would disappear. Halfway through, it began to tremble and felt the darkness touching it: scratches on its back, a tap on the shoulder, but whenever it tried to spot whatever was touching it, nothing appeared.
Finally, the rat made it to the end of the passage and let out a breath of relief. The strange thing was that even though the passage was five meters long, it felt like the rat had walked six meters.
Strange...
Abyss mana is fascinating.
Turning off the passage, I felt the majority of my mana return to me.
Available Mana: 211 → 213
I focused on the egg again.
Time to learn more about you...