When I stepped on the fifth floor, the first thing that greeted me was … homecoming. At least, it felt like that. It was not something I expected to feel in a dungeon, particularly at its most hostile location. Yet, I did.
I closed my eyes, and made a pushing gesture before I removed my filter. "What are you doing?" Eleanor asked, looking shocked.
"I can remove it as well," I told her. "I can … control the corrosion aura," I said, feeling fascinated. It was a weird sensation. In a way, it felt like controlling mana, but slightly wilder. I wasn't suddenly controlling all of it, but my immediate surroundings were different.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Maria asked.
I shrugged. "We're not exactly in a position where we can be careful," I responded. "Not with the enemy we're about to face. How much time do we have?"
"An hour? Two at most?" Maria said. "Even if they don't replace their mounts, they can just run here.'
"Exactly —" I started, only to pause.
"What's wrong?" Maria asked.
"We need to set the crusher," I said hurriedly. "Maybe even some defenses."
"Because I can feel at least twenty boss monsters rushing toward us, and they seem agitated," I said. "They clearly don't like my presence."
"Twenty?" Eleanor said. "That's a bit much, even for us, right?"
"Not that much," I said. "They won't arrive together. We'll have several seconds between each arrival, which will give us time to deal with them," I said. "If we didn't have Maria with us, however, things would have been much harder. It looks like taking over a dungeon is more challenging."
"Maybe we should go back, and let the invaders deal with the boss monsters. It'll soften them up, and if we can pin them down between the boss monsters and the gate between the fourth and fifth floor…"
"Tempting, but I don't want them getting the crystals. It was not fun when Maria tried to connect with the dungeon, and I don't want them to repeat it."
"Good point," Eleanor said, then paused. "Also, there's no guarantee that they would find the gate we're waiting for them at. Things can get really bad if they pick an alternative direction. What are you going to do with the crystals?"
"I think I'll absorb them. For better or worse, the connection between me and the dungeon feels final. It feels like reinforcing it is a better idea than just letting it grow on its own, right?" I replied as I finished setting up the steam-powered crusher for Maria to replenish her mana quickly, though it took some of my reserves.
However, setting it meant I had to spend some mana, which I was reluctant to do, as I didn't know if I could use Meditation to replenish it.
My eyes widened when I checked my mana reserves.
"What's wrong?" Maria asked.
"My mana," I responded. "It replenished instantly once I used it."
"Because of the dungeon connection?" Maria asked.
"Most likely," I responded. Suddenly having unlimited mana sounded like an excellent advantage, but I was still afraid of the side effects. "But, focus. The first monster will be here in a minute."
She nodded, and we turned toward the boss monsters. The battle that followed was … boring, not that I was complaining.
Attacked by twenty dungeon bosses in less than ten minutes would have been a very dangerous siege if Maria hadn't been able to take them down easily with one spell, making the process far easier. Thinking about the implications of my connection was far more stressful.
"That's it, for now," I said as I absorbed the last crystal, once again quickly piled everything into the cart, which was being pulled by a steam engine.
"For now?" Eleanor asked, surprised.
"I can feel even more dungeon bosses moving toward us, but they are quite some distance away. Only two should arrive before we reach the gate, so moving to set the defenses is the better option."
Eleanor nodded as she helped me pile everything up on the cart, and then we started to wade through the corrosive mist.
As we moved, Maria approached. "So, you have infinite mana?" she said.
"I don't know," I said even as I raised my spear and used a few mana attacks. The notification of mana dropping appeared repeatedly, but my mana never dropped. "It feels more like my mana is being replenished immediately after it's used. I'm probably pulling from the dungeon reserves."
"Makes sense," she said. "Can you still use Meditation?"
"I don't know. Let me see," I said as I paused for a moment, closed my eyes, and meditated.
It was the biggest mistake of my life. A pain hit me, with an intensity that I had never felt before, invading my whole being. A part of me realized that I was drowning as I thrashed, but it didn't seem to be a big problem.
No, it felt like a solution. Instead of feeling that pain, I would much rather die. Unfortunately, a pair of arms tried to pull me from the water to stop it, one that stopped just as quickly as they flew away. Yet, I found myself floating …
I could hear shouts and cries … but they faded a long time later.
What replaced it was… A dream? A vision? A new reality? I didn't know which. All I knew was that I stood at the edge of a giant mountain, looking at a battlefield.
The sky itself was torn apart, and great monsters spilled through it. Monsters so horrendous, even the largest, most dangerous monster I had fought was nothing against them. Those creatures radiated something alien, something that could best be described as the antithesis of life.
Darkness. Madness. Evil. Chaos. I had no idea what to call it. All of them fit equally. Or, maybe, didn't.
The planet itself was an alien entity, one that was filled with an aura of decay so thick that it should have evaporated me immediately. Yet, it did not. Instead, it was a part of my breathing. I raised my hand, only to see a chitinous carapace rather than an arm.
It should have scared me, but it did not, not when I looked down, seeing an army of insectoids. They weren't like dungeon creations, reckless and mindless. What I saw was an army that wielded the decay energy with impossible precision as they defended themselves against the entities of darkness that tried to invade them.
A hopeless battle, with the remnants of a once-great civilization in ruins around them, their magic ineffective against the wave of darkness, the creatures endless and overwhelming at once.
One insect stood tall among the others, tall enough to be a skyscraper, its carapace filled with intricate golden and silver patterns. Yet, it didn't move like a monster, but carried a staff on each of its four arms, glowing intensely.
Unlike the other attacks, every blast of light from its staff took down one of the invading beings, but their numbers were endless.
Tens of thousands of insectoid warriors swarmed against the monsters, their exoskeletons gleaming under the strange light of the torn sky. They were disciplined, their movements precise as they formed ranks, their shields raised and weapons ready.
Despite that, I could feel a desperation in their stance. Every single one of them knew the hopelessness of the battle, yet they fought as their lines were overwhelmed by the endless monster waves, their numbers endless. The insectoid army got smaller and smaller, and the very land started to collapse against the weight of the darkness.
Soon, the giant insectoid was the only one left, yet it wielded the very concept of decay to the limit. With each movement, with every sweep of its staffs, everything around it corroded...
Until it fell as well. The planet I was on shattered, and I floated with that piece. Then, that piece was captured by something and … disappeared. I found myself floating in nothingness. The vision was gone, leaving only pain behind.
I wanted to die … but a stubborn part of me refused it. I could not. Why, I didn't understand. But, I could not.
I didn't know how long the pain lasted. My best guess was months. Maybe years. My eyes were blurred with pain, but I managed to read something despite that.
A notification, my mind supplied.
[Cleansing Meditation (Uncommon) 134 -> Meditation of Decay (Mythic) 100]
When I opened my eyes, I found myself looking at Maria and Eleanor, their faces filled with worry. "H-how long?"
"How long what?" Maria asked.
"How long was I unconscious for?" I asked, my voice surprisingly smooth.
"What do you mean?" Maria said. "You were walking, then you suddenly started to thrash. Ten seconds?"
"Well…" I muttered as I pulled myself onto my feet, expecting myself to be hurting badly. But, there was no pain. "I think I have just upgraded a skill above Legendary," I muttered. I wanted to smile at their astonished expression, but even the memory of that pain was too strong.
"Really?" Maria asked, shocked.
"Yes. But, I can't recommend repeating the process. It's not a fun experience. At all," I muttered as I stood up. "We still have a siege to deal with," I said.
"Are you—" they started simultaneously, but I cut them off.
"Yes. I need a distraction," I said, determined.