I stopped half a mile away from the camp, ready to discard the poorly made cart. I didn't want to drag it with me all the way back. As for the contents, I didn't expect it to have anything truly useful. I had taken it mostly as a courtesy.
I believe the only exception is the handwritten notes about the skills and classes they discovered. If they were able to come up with something we missed, it would be excellent, but even without it, I could use it as a tool to examine their process, and tweak the guides.
As for the other stuff, I didn't expect much. There were several skill stones, Common to Uncommon, the kind we already had stockpiles of, completely useless, some monster parts that carried absolutely no feature, and some plant samples that carried no—
My thoughts paused once I touched a broken piece of what I thought to be crystal. I might have dismissed it so, if it wasn't for the fascinating glimpse I was able to get. "Oh, what do we have here," I purred happily, examining the peculiar crystal in hand more carefully.
It was an interesting object. Its internal structure reminded me of a beehive. Mostly inert, but only a few pieces of it were holding any hint of mana. I wondered whether it was something natural or crafted. A difficult call.
It was a mineral … yet it was not. I could feel a very subtle hint of life from it as well, almost like a calcified mineral, but also like a plant. As if it was halfway between a plant and a rock.
I applied a hint of my Nurture skill, and it started to slowly expand. Yet, at the same time, Nurture wasn't fully effective in it. "What a beautiful find," I said.
Emboldened by the discovery, I went through everything else, but there was no other curious oddity hidden. I took the notes and the crystal, and burned the rest.
On the way back, I continued to examine the crystal, particularly how it reacted to various applications of Nurture.
It was mostly inert, but under nurture, it acted alive. It started to glow with a rhythm, giving a soft green light Then, slowly, a new branch of crystal began to form on one side, extending like a root toward my palm.
It further confirmed my guess. It was not entirely alive. Not like a beast or a tree. But not fully inert either. Note from the editor: Always check MV2LEMPYR for corrections.
"I know exactly how to use you," I said to the crystal, chuckling happily as I pocketed it, but kept the other notes in hand.
Soon, I was at the entrance, where a metal fortress was slowly being constructed. I waved my hand as the soldiers greeted, but my attention was on the half-completed wooden statue of a giant frog, imbued with a thick poison concept.
"Impressive work," I said to Terry, who was still working on it.
"Just a start, sir," Terry replied. "It's leaking mana like a sieve, not to mention it can't move yet. Actually, I have a few questions about it."
"Tempting, but I trust you to handle it," I said. "Work on it for now, and if you can't solve it until morning, I'll help," I said. While the idea of staying here and experimenting with various applications of Nurture was interesting, I wanted to stay in the dungeon and observe the changes.
The latest dream about the creatures of darkness spooked me.
"It should be done then," Terry replied.
"Good," I said, then removed the notes I picked from the settlement. "These are the notes from the other refugees, a summary of their experiences with the variant classes and skill upgrades. Go over them to see if there's anything interesting."
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"How should we work with them?"
"They should stay near their fortifications for now. Keep an eye on them, and intervene in case of any danger, but otherwise stay passive. Keep a low profile until any of the cities notice our presence."
"Depends on the forces they deploy, but prioritize the defense of the immediate area while we deploy our forces. We can't afford to lose the logistic advantages of the gate."
After a few more detailed points, I walked through the half-constructed gate of the metal keep, and stepped inside. The mana pool was untouched, but covered with a thick metal plate. Using Observe, I could sense the presence of the mana pool, still being absorbed by the gate aggressively.
Once inside, I immediately went to the decay dungeon, directly to the fifth floor. The place was difficult to recognize. The previously untouched deep swamp was marred by dozens of metal platforms, each armed to the teeth, occupied by scouts.
Between them, hundreds and hundreds of spearmen ran freely, hunting beasts with an enthusiasm that surprised me. Curious, I opened a gate directly to Eleanor, her presence as an Ascended easily distinguishable.
"Someone's here for a spar," Eleanor greeted me, her blade already lashing toward me. Coming from anyone else, it would have been a furious attack. From her, it was a playful greeting.
I drew my sword and parried it in one smooth move. Her smile grew until I raised my hand to stop her. "The spar has to wait until the morning," I said, cutting her off for the moment. "I just wanted to check the situation."
"It's alright," she said. "A bit boring, though."
"What's with the enthusiasm?" I asked. "I expected the mood to be more somber."
"People are enthusiastic about leveling," she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "Aren't they already over the limit?"
"Not anymore," she said. "The corrupted insects are breaking the limit, with more corruption giving more experience."
"At least one good thing comes out of it," I said, still frowning.
"You're not as happy as I expected," she replied.
I shrugged. "More levels are good, but I don't have a good feeling about this corruption. You remember the dream I had when I first linked with the dungeon, right?"
"I had another of them, this time from the fire dungeon. A different world, but the same creatures. I have a very bad feeling about it, feeling like it would turn into a problem sooner or later."
"You worry too much," she replied. "If trouble arises, we'll just cut it down," she said, bringing down her sword in one expressive gesture to the side, and the waters of the swamp parted away for hundreds of yards. A good display of her improved prowess with her first steps into her Ascension.
"I appreciate it," I said. A quick chat later, I left the dungeon completely, in search of another of my students. Spencer.
A few questions later, I found him in a room in the outer defenses, looking disheveled, with papers spread around him. It reminded me of one of my own research benders, desperate. "Professor," he said, looking desperate. "I'm sorry to say that I have failed to fulfill my promise."
"You don't have anything to apologize for," I said, waving it off. Though, I was happy to hear someone calling me Professor. Even Terry and the rest stopped doing it. "It's the nature of research. Sometimes, it's an elusive mistress." That didn't help his mood. "You're feeling guilty because of the others, right?" I asked.
He nodded. "I'm the only one that failed to make any progress. Even Ryan has mana now, and he started contributing."
"What about Soren?" I said.
"Yeah, and him," he said dismissively. I ignored Soren for the moment, and focused on him.
"That's different. I'm not dismissing their achievements, but they are walking in a direction where they can see the path, and it helps them. It's the difference between having a visible endpoint for the research, and fumbling in the dark."
That didn't help his mood. "I understand, but—" he started, but his words were cut when I flicked him the curious crystal I picked. He gasped once he grasped it. "P-professor, what's this?"
"I don't know," I said, smiling as I said that. "It's a curious little item I came across by luck, but its properties are quite curious. It reminded me of some of your attempts with trying to grow more structured plants."
He flooded it with his Health, and the crystal grew another branch. "Maybe," he muttered. "It realigns itself under my touch, showing some curious patterns. It should be possible to enforce a more complicated pattern, especially if it reacts well with mana…"
I watched as he gently directed a branch to a particular shape with his Nurture skill, already using it far more flexibility than I could. No matter what, the difference between class skills and external ones was vast.
The crystal pulsed and expanded, growing not just faster, but in more complex, elegant structures. I had a feeling that it would open some new doors.
I wanted to stay and work on it, curiosity burning inside me.
Too bad I had other, more critical tasks to attend.