She took off, and I could soon hear multiple sounds of appreciation. Coming back rapidly, she pronounced, “You know, if you wanted to be really boring, you could feed an entire city for decades.”
I responded tartly, <I am not a farm, thank you very much. I just don’t want to have bad body odor.>
“Dead body odor.” She quipped, looking over for a reaction.
<Well, yeah, what did you think I meant?> I questioned confusedly.
Dani acted like I was intentionally not understanding her pun. “Never mind. Today, lets-”
An odd sensation alerted me to an uninvited guest. <Shh! Wait! There is something on the stairs!>
She went still for the first time since waking up, “What! Dungeon divers again this soon?! We aren’t ready!”
<No, it doesn’t feel like that.> While I had made the stairs, my influence was not yet dense enough to see what was on them. I made a note to focus on that when I had some Essence stored up. <It is coming to the entrance; I should be able to see it any second now.>
<...>
“What is it?!”
<I don’t know! I’ve never seen anything like it before.>
“Should I be worried?”
<No, it is just coming in, it doesn’t seem to be doing muc- It’s attacking my herbs!!> I howled, desperately searching for a way to fight back.
Dani was aghast, “All of them?!”
<No, just the one for now. It isn’t in range of the Bane shroomish yet, now it is just waiting, staring at my mushrooms!> I really didn’t have the energy to make more plants. As it was, my Chi spiral had no excess swirling Essence to pull from, and I was exhausted. I asked Dani to take a look, as she could connect with me with a bit of effort. Her reaction shocked me.
“Bwahahahah! Cal, oh sweet naive C-cal,” She laughed, choking on the words, “That is the scourge of the mountains, the destroyer of herbs, a mountain bunny!” I could get nothing else from her for a few minutes, as she was laughing too hard to catch her breath.
Grumbling, <It’s still eating my plants! What’s a bunny? Is it poisonous, does it have sharp teeth?>
“No,” she gasped a bit still in an attempt to contain her mirth, “They are plant eaters! Usually prey for the larger animals and Beasts, they survive by being really prolific.”
Prolific? <Meaning?>
“That they have babies really fast, and a lot of them.” She explained offhandedly, used to me asking questions about new words.
An idea came to life in my mind, <...Dani. Idea Dani. Do you think I could spawn these as Mobs?>
Catching on instantly she replied, “I think so, these are low F-ranked animals.”
I had been able to study humans, but the complexity involved in the pattern made them too far beyond my knowledge or power to produce. A mindless husk? Sure, though the mushrooms were more useful. If I were able to produce an ambulatory, semi-intelligent creature, no matter how weak, it would be a huge stride forward for me. For us, really.
<Dani, get ready! It’s moving closer!> I took aim.
It came in range of the Bane, and when a speeding thorn penetrated its skull, my mind exploded with information.
~Ten~
It had taken a few weeks of hard travel, but the group of mostly C-ranked adventurers had finally reached a city large enough to have a Guild office, an Elven embassy, and a church with a B-ranked priest. Going to the embassy first, as the Elf in their midst had seniority, they made their report to the incredulous Elven ambassadors, inciting a near riot as they rushed to make memory stones to hold the news.
Memory stones were Beast Cores that had been further refined by Essence to be able to hold copies of memories, skills, or other pertinent information. When someone used a memory stone, they would gain all of the information in the stone as their own ideas and memories, allowing them to gain knowledge quickly and easily. This helped with learning skills, cultivation techniques, and even fighting styles. Depending on the quality, more people could use them before their power was exhausted, at which point they would crumble and become useless. Higher grade stones could be refined with Mana, and were able to hold items in a sub-dimensional space, nicknamed a ‘Bag of Holding’ as these high grade stones were usually attached to bags in order to hide their identity, being very expensive to purchase.
A few Elven delegates were selected for their endurance, rare amongst Elves, given supplies and a memory stone each, and told to make for the Elven nation, allowing nothing to stop them. Their horses were spelled, allowing them to run the entire distance without discomfort, and the Elves were given potions that would mimic the effects of a good night of rest. Riding within the hour, the Elven nation would soon prepare to move part of its population to this newfound Silverwood location.
Their Elven leader’s mission complete, the party split to make their individual reports. Most went to the Guild, but the priest went directly to the Church. After a short prayer near the altar, he went in search of the Bishop. Although he needed to wait a short while, he was admitted when they heard the seriousness of his business.
“Good afternoon, my child.” The sonorous voice of the bishop spoke. “Tell me of your travels.”
“Thank you for seeing me, your grace.” The cleric gave a short bow. “With the rumor of a dungeon being discovered in the mountains, we were dispatched to check the rumors validity. As per regulation, we gathered a Mage, B-ranked, several Guild warriors, and myself to determine if the dungeon were an infernal cesspool. Upon arrival to the village, we were guided to the entrance of what was indeed a dungeon and quickly and easily dispatched the creatures inside. While we did find plants with a vampiric effect, there was no evidence beyond that to suggest infernal designs.”
Taking a breath, he continued, “To ensure this, I lowered my blessed pendant to the dungeon Core. Far from being destroyed or even slightly damaged, my pendant was absorbed.”
“Is it a celestial dungeon, then?” The Bishop interrupted, nearly as concerned about this possibility as he was at the thought of an infernal dungeon.
The cleric shook his head, “I was unable to discern that fact, but as we were leaving a small mushroom appeared in the first room. We killed it, but as loot it dropped- this.” He pulled out his restored pendant, handing it to his spiritual leader with a flourish.
Brow furrowed, the bishop inspected the pendant and the Essence contained within. “This is odd. It has no affinity that I can sense, but certainly is a Runed item. The Inscription to turn aside infernal creatures is correct, but cannot be activated without being filled with celestial energy. Therefore, I am sorry to say, this is useless.”
Crestfallen, the cleric sat down. “I had hoped you would be able to find what affinity it had. I just assumed my knowledge was insufficient to ascertain its origins.”
“We can always try prayer.” The bishop held the pendant in his hand and began to pray. The celestial Essence which was his greatest strength extended to and entered the Inscription on the pendant’s face. Dropping the necklace after an instant, the bishop looked at it in shock.
“Your grace?”
“W-we need to build a church in that area forthwith.” The Bishop looked down at the pendant, which was now nearly humming with celestial energy. “As my prayer touched it, all of the Essence it contained gained a celestial affinity. This pendant alone represents six months of Inscription work, purification, and prayer. If that dungeon drops more, we will have a potent weapon against the darkness in the world. I think… I think I know the perfect person. Go and find Father Richard for me.”
The cleric blanched at this order.