<Oh, come on Dani. If they use those outside of here, I’ll at least be able to get more Essence if they die in here. Plus, I want to see if it works, all they should have to do is have it pressed against their skin near a meridian.> Dale was sure there was an invisible person standing behind him, and whipped his demolished weapon around. He glanced at the remains of his Morningstar, it had been mostly destroyed by the acid and shattered by the Beast they had fought.
<Fine, fine! I have a better version for him anyway.> Dale was starting to panic. A *thunk* at his feet made him jump and yelp. A shining, pristine Morningstar lay underneath him. There were a few differences from the original. For one, the head of the weapon seemed to be crystal, with electrum filled Runes forming a powerful Runescript on it. Electrum was a mix of Gold and Silver - both soft metals - so Dale was unsure of its usefulness in combat. Next, the hilt was also covered in Runescript, but this time in a way he somewhat recognized. The Rune was the same he had on his - it would send the head of the weapon out a few feet from the shaft, giving him range in combat.
The most noticeable difference though, was the ridiculous size of the thing. Where his hand would go was normal sized, and long enough that he could use both hands to swing it if he gave up his shield. From that point upward the shaft was three times larger than he was used to, looking like a large sapling or small tree. The crystal head of the weapon was twice the width of his head, if you included the spikes. Dale picked the weapon up. More accurately, he tried to. Still weak from freaking dying, he could barely shift the weapon. He looked at the hilt and saw the same Rune there as Tom had, which would make the weapon feather light.
Dale reached for his Essence; which was instantly available to him. The ease with which it moved at his command was startling in itself, maybe it had to do with all of his meridians being opened? With a small burst of Essence, he activated the Rune, unknowingly also binding the Morningstar to himself. Now easily lifting the massive weapon of war, he gave it a few practice swings. He remembered that he should test the range of the activation that moved the head away, so he pointed it away from his friends. He aimed at the wall roughly ten feet away, and activated the Rune.
The shards of stone flying through the air and the thundering of rock being shattered made the entire group dive for cover. Shock covered Dale's face as blood from a new cut across his cheek dripped down into his mouth. He deactivated the Rune and the head of the weapon returned to him, affixing itself onto his hilt.
“I feel rather tired of unknown weapons killing my friends in here.” Tom calmly stated, brushing rock dust off of his arms. “Very interesting though.”
“I think we should do our cultivating and leave.” Rose directed in a deceivingly calm manner. Locks of her hair had been sheared off by the razor sharp stone and it was obvious she was working hard not to attack Dale. Face pale, Dale nodded and they all sat in a meditative pose in the center of the massive Runescript on the floor, near where Essence was appearing in liquid form. They each agreed not to drink it after hearing Adam's account of its use. Though it would fill them with Essence, Adam warned that it would make their Chi spiral unstable: possibly burning them, making their centers explode, or damage their meridians beyond repair. The only reason Adam had survived its use was that he had been almost entirely out of Essence, even then he had had to use most of it as fast as possible.
The highly purified Essence in the air still allowed them to cultivate for far longer and with greater gains than they ever had been able to before, stretching the bounds of what they could hold at any given time. Dale had another shock as he began. As he opened himself to the heavens and the earth, Essence flooded into him in a titanic wave of energy. He gasped, and tried to understand what was happening.
In a flash he realized what was different. He had only ever pulled in Essence along the most open channel, his earthen affinity. After waking up, all of his affinity channels were open. He was pulling Essence in from every possible source simultaneously. The wave of energy blasted along his spirals, refining deeper and stronger Chi threads.
The fractal pattern in his center which had become even rougher and more splintered after dying smoothed itself, repairing every flaw along the millions of spirals. When this process finished, his cultivation speed became even faster. In a short time, he had broken into D-rank one, shattering his previous boundary to advancement at a speed that should have been impossible. By the time they were finished cultivating for the day, he was halfway into D-rank two. Dale decided to keep the information to himself as they began their ascent into the world above.
~Cal~
“What a day!” Dani sagged, the tension in her voice finally receding.
<No kidding! You would not believe what I got out of that Distortion Cat. First of all, I reached D-rank five!!> I bragged while shining in pleasure as she happily chattered at me. <Also, I have enough information to make that Distortion Cat if I want. Well,> I coughed as she looked at me in horror, <a young version of it anyway. A D-Rank three at best, but with this Essence well,> I directed her attention to the liquid Essence, <I think they can Rank up quickly. No tentacles, those were what made it insane. Without that parasite though, it’ll have a mouth and could be altered with corruption like the Bashers were!>
“Maybe… Maybe we wait a few days? Before trying new things again?” Dani pleaded. “Let’s just relax some? Maybe a month or two?”
<Anything for you, Dani. Um. There is one little issue.>
“Oh lord. What did you do now, Cal?”
I thought hard on my answer, <So, you know how I can feel all of my creatures, experience what they do, and influence them? If they were created by me they are always Mobs...>
Dani looked extremely nervous, “Yes...?”
<And when I use my Essence to give them life or whatever they also come under my influence, they become Dungeon born? Though if they are smart or strong enough I can’t directly control them, but they can hear my commands and experience what they do?>
“Spit it out Cal.”
<I think… Mind you I am not certain, but I think... I may have made Dale, um. Dungeon born.>
“... Damn it, Cal…”
End of book one! Don’t forget to read the epilogue after the glossary!
~Glossary~
Adam – A mid D-Ranked Cleric who joined Dale’s group.
Adventurers Guild – A group from every non-hostile race that actively seeks treasure and Cultivates to become stronger. They act as a Mercenary group for Kingdoms that come under attack from monsters and other non-kingdom forces.
Affinity – A person’s affinity denotes what element they need to Cultivate Essence from. If they have multiple affinities, they need to cultivate all of those elements at the same time.
Affinity Channel – The pathway along the Meridians that Essence flows through. Having multiple major affinities will open more pathways, allowing more Essence to flow in at one time.
Amber – The Mage in charge of the portal-making group near the dungeon. She is in the upper A-Rankings, allowing her to tap vast amounts of Mana.
Assassin – A stealthy killer who tries to make kills without being detected by their victim.