It’s hard to know how much time I’ve been inside this dungeon. It’s impossible to know how time flows in this place, maybe it’s slower or faster than outside, some dungeons have those qualities.
I only know that I have already defeated more than two dozen of those extremely powerful skeletons. They are a real pain, they don’t die unless I land a direct hit on their core. The corrupted life mana manages to restore them quickly, it’s absurd how they can heal and heal all the time.
“They’re a pain in the ass, they don’t stop healing and their death mana wants to devour me all the time.” I complain to Glia.
She has decided to train alongside me. This place is perfect to help her, she also has a strong affinity with life and death mana, her control is poor compared to mine, but she can manage it relatively well with her good use of Imra.
“A monster with fast regeneration? A monster capable of destroying everything in front of it? It reminds me of someone.” I can feel the sarcasm in her words.
“Is that how my opponents see me? Is that what most spectators think of me?” My question wasn’t directed at Glia, I just thought out loud.
“These monsters are like children compared to you.” I turn to look at her as she speaks. “Just think, you can regenerate faster, you have a very oppressive Imra, and you can attack at both long and short range, you are an anomaly.” She chuckles.
I keep looking at her for a few seconds, processing her words, she’s right, but I don’t want to accept it. “Most young people and children look at me as an inspiration and a role model.” I reply quickly.
“At that age everyone fantasizes about being very strong, having a lot of money, and marrying beautiful women, obviously most of them admire you. That doesn’t mean you aren’t a real pain in the ass for anyone who faces you.” She smiles with confidence.
“Is it that bad?” I ask, a bit downcast.
“Yes, that regenerative power and your swordsmanship are simply ridiculous.” She concludes.
I can’t reply because I feel several presences approaching from the front. This time there are seven grade 4 skeletons. “I’ll leave you two, I’ll take five.” I tell Glia.
She nods without taking her eyes off the front. Glia is not capable of facing more than two of these monsters, she has many problems with the dense death mana, it’s better if I take most of them.
I rush toward them without thinking. I force gravity to separate five of them toward my side and isolate the other two.
I have also improved considerably in this place, my death mana has become much denser and more dangerous. It is still a headache trying to shape it the way the monsters here do, they must have several abilities and Laws to support themselves, even their Dominion must be focused solely on death mana.
It is quite a dilemma trying to understand how they shape death mana in such a delicate and powerful way. Being a supreme mana, it works completely differently from my normal affinities.
How can I improve? I have tried to follow the way they construct their spells, but they are simply too fast. I can only detect part of the entire construction, that has been enough to improve to the point I am now.
“If only it were as easy to handle supreme mana as my other affinities.” While complaining, I realize something.
I have been overlooking something all this time. I have good control over another supreme mana, I have been practicing hard these weeks to use it with the delicacy necessary to treat others.
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My first attempt to use death mana with the same delicacy as life mana fails. I don’t manage to cover my body in time, only the tip of the sword reaches me, the monster’s strength surpasses my defense and I’m sent flying to the side.
A single small mistake was enough to push me back. The speed and strength of a grade 4 monster must not be taken lightly, especially these ones that are far above average.
They quickly try to corner me while I recover. Obviously I don’t let them, several constructs stop their attempt. Only one manages to break through the defenses, but at a great cost, its bones have been broken along the way, I stop its sword with mine.
A big smile forms on my face, I don’t mind getting injured, it’s time to keep practicing. I try again to construct my death mana just like I’ve been doing with my life mana, they are two sides of the same coin, there must be some connection.
I don’t know how many hours or hordes of enemies passed until I realized my slight problem. Both are sides of the same coin, but they are still different sides. The construction worked well at the beginning, it worked very well to build it with subtlety.
The problem lies in the lack of power at the end. Death mana began to act differently, more voracious, more aggressive, now the problem is the lack of power in my constructions, they have no substance, they lack density.
Now I am building subtly at the beginning, then I fully open the flow of my mana well. The construction receives all the death mana in a single surge, that gives it a much higher density and makes it even more voracious.
That solved one problem and created another. The mana is very volatile, I have almost killed myself twice. Both situations where I was close to death were completely my fault, I managed to react just in time the second time, but in the first one I lost one arm and half of the other while defending myself.
I need some kind of support to keep the volatile mana in place, something resistant enough to withstand something so voracious. Thinking calmly, I only found three solutions, gravity mana, my willpower, and my Dominion.
All three are valid, I have used the first two before and they have always worked wonderfully. The Dominion is something very new, but I have the feeling it will work.
In the next wave of monsters I use gravity mana. The first attempts didn’t work much, the death mana itself tried to consume my other affinity, it was as if it saw my gravity mana as fuel.
Little by little it began to take shape until I could finally control both affinities decently. Right now I am quite happy about the resistance of these skeletons, it seems infinite.
How can I be happy about something I was complaining about? Better not say anything or Glia will make fun of me.
I slowly add my willpower to the equation. The effect is much faster, I manage to control the volatility to a certain degree, in exchange it loses some voracity, it is not a bad trade if I think about my safety.
Several tests passed, I’m not sure how long I’ve been fighting in this damn place. At least 10 or 12 days must have passed according to my estimates, it’s a luxury not needing much food, although I try to eat whenever I can.
Finally, I try using Dominion. The application feels much more natural, more fluid, adding this to the equation has been like the final knot to tie something I’ve been searching for for a long time.
My constructions improved considerably as I continued trying to find the perfect balance. My swords, due to the use of mana, have turned a very dark blue with small yellow lightning running along the edges.
My attacks are still very weak compared to those skeleton monsters, but I have found the path I was searching for. Death mana now wants to devour everything it touches when I use it, although it still loses against the monsters’ skill, I now have a beginning.
According to my calculations, another week has passed. We have gone through several stages, at some point we faced large numbers of skeleton monsters, the maximum was fourteen at the same time. It was a very complicated fight, I was injured countless times, even Glia hid in my cube after the fight to recover faster from her wounds.
Then their numbers began to decrease, in exchange they became stronger. That made us think we are close to the end of the dungeon, that always happens in most of them. The strongest monsters are always near the end or the core.
“That door is huge.” Glia says.
She’s right, the door is gigantic, it is decorated with many strange dark materials and some very beautiful purple gems. The design is truly out of this world.
“The final boss or the core must be behind it.” I reply, she nods immediately.
“Let’s do this quickly, I really miss seeing sunlight. I don’t know how long we’ve been in this place, although it has been a good place to train, I want to leave already.” Glia complains.
I can’t argue with that. I’ve also enjoyed training, I’ve improved a lot, now it’s time to return, it’s enough.
“Let’s see what’s on the other side, let’s put an end to this.” As I take a step forward, the door opens by itself.