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Chapter 76: A look at [Runes]
🕑 Added 2021-11-18 13:33:26 +0000 UTC[Purify]
Allows the user to Purify [General] creatures.
Uncommon
30MP
With ten full minutes to spare, the Core had gained the skill it had sought for the last hour. It had been quite the ride to get, creatures, skill in masses. At some point, it had slightly given up, not trusting itself to finish the goal within the allotted time. Yet… here it was, having made a fully-fledged purification of an [Giant-Ant]. It was not the most widespread infection yet it still proved to be the perfect example of what could be. Within a little time, the Core expected to have it lal figured out perfectly.
‘You can come back now,’ the Core sent to the Queen, happy about its progress. So happy that it forgot about its spatial abilities. It wasn’t constricted to a single location, having merely chosen to work right beside the entrance to the Dungeon. It was rather peculiar how it had fastened itself to that point. Perhaps that mental entrapment from before had made it instinctually grapple that point. There was no way to know for sure. ‘Or, wait. Just stay over there.’
‘It wasn’t like I could move most of these to begin with,’ the Queen answered quickly, as the Core began to move its mind over to her. It took but an instant to reclaim control over its full sights, allowing it to see the scene inside its main domain. Calling it abhorrent was an understatement. ‘A few wouldn’t have survived it.’
Two of the ants had started to show visible patches of colouring on the outside, deeply making the Core think of just ending their lives as mercy. While their Health was still relatively high, it had started to fall, one point being lost every ten seconds or so. It would likely worsen with time as well, hitting the bottom in just a few minutes. The Core had truly picked the right time to learn its skill.
Using [Purify] without any further complications, it emptied its Mana-Reserves instantly before refilling and emptying it again and again. It took several rounds of such before each creature inside was free of [Infection] and a boost of [Healing] allowed even the weakest to stand again. The setting previously looking so grim had turned perfect as every creature was back in the fighting form that the Entity desired of them. With time, it could likely even gain a few mighty fighters out of the bunch, though that would have to wait until [Evolutions] started up. That was still a step or two down on the agenda.
‘All should be purified now,’ the Core sent back after a minute, checking each creature briefly to make sure no smaller bits remained hidden somewhere. That would have been quite an awkward moment, after all, if one of the creatures were to die a few days later due to the Core’s incompetence at the current moment. ‘Was there anything else I needed to do to make them all healthy?’
‘While I would prefer you also learning [Revive] so you can make the dead children live once again, I don’t think either of us has the patience for learning that,’ the Queen commented, making it clear that she understood requirements for learning with Intent. She might even have felt the creatures’ minds as the Core killed them. It was still a small sacrifice in the name of progress but both intelligent beings understood how it still didn’t need to be taken lightly. The cost of life was never positive in the end. ‘My children are healthy now and there is nothing else we need to do to make sure it keeps being that way, save for fortifying our defences further.’
‘But before all of that, I believe I still need to see the outside. The last attempt was rather rudely interrupted, if you remember that,’ the Core noted, playing back in its mind the memory of what had happened not that long ago. That world of pain still came in phantom jabs, making sure that the Entity would never truly forget it. Yet it was best to ignore it, lest the thoughts would fester through time. ‘Were there any spots outside you would prefer I should take a look at?’
‘There are many places I would love to show you,’ the Quee commented. ‘Yet, do you think it wise to try your luck once again? Your last attempt nearly killed us all by attracting monsters of higher degrees. There was even one more powerful than I who was interested in the first pulse that only ignored us due to your timing.’
‘You shouldn’t fear too much. From my personal experience, those flare-ups only tend to happen once with each discovery. They are rare repeated and even that only happens when I reject the first dive into my mind,’ the Core explained readily, knowing what it needed to say to not cause fear. The Queen was not too happy about those occurrences at all, yet the Core had lived with them throughout its whole life. It had become a main-stay and it had adapted to the pain to some level. It would never truly like it but it was something that happened no matter it tried. Therefore, acceptance was better than denial for only one allowed it to live without fear.
‘If you say so,’ the Queen said, not happy with the answer but without any recourse or comments to make the Entity reconsider. It also helped that the Core was still the leader and could functionally do whatever it pleased. There were times where it would listen to her words but other times where it would decide on its own. This was one of the times where her opinion did not matter as much, the Core’s need to discover triumphing over everything else. ‘Wait for a moment before you send out a pulse. I need to get into position.’
The Core was perfectly fine with that, however, it gave time to prepare as well. Before, it had made a ball of about one hundred Mana and had sent that out through a period of ten seconds. This was not nearly enough time, however, if the Queen was to show the different sights while walking, requiring the Core to rethink its strategy. While it did not go directly away from the hundred-Mana Balls, it changed the number of them in its possession. Instead of one, it made fifteen. And then twenty, thirty, and was just about to reach forty when the Queen announced her prep being done. Having no real need for more than those minutes, the Core accepted and she moved outside its domain, the Core following along with the assistance of [Mana-Sense].
There was not much different to see at first, the river that had been mentioned so many times being the first sight for the Core. It stood mere meters away from the entrance, though it first began after a smaller slope and about ten meters of walking. Very close but not to the point where it had to fear that its creatures might fall in.
‘I believe I mentioned these before to you,’ the Queen stated. ‘Inside is what I suspect to be some quite old [Enchantments]. Their actual nature and purposes are still not exactly known but I expect them to have been made during the last three centuries. Even the greater creators in the last times won’t have had the time or resources to make sound creations in this random spot in the world. Can you see the [Enchantments] with that skill of yours?’
Oh, the Core could most definitely see them. What were they and what did they say, however? It had no clue. Much like the runic patterns that were seen on the Black Mana-Circles put out by the Queen, this was pure gibberish to the Entity. It understood neither the tops nor bottoms, only gazing at the entire interlocking pattern. It repeated itself every ten meters or so, starting and ending with a smaller circle. If required, it could probably copy the design, though it wasn’t sure if there was a finishing pattern or not. It would have to ask.
‘I can see them, yes, though I don’t understand them,’ the Core answered, still trying vigorously to figure out the details. There were so many points and corners that something had to have different meanings. Yet the secrets were beyond its abilities and it knew little about it. ‘I don’t think they look that similar to those runes you used either.
‘Could you explain them in more detail?’ the Queen requested. ‘I do know a few words of different runic languages and I could perhaps figure which of them it was for you.’
Looking the pattern over once again, the Entity tried to figure out where it would even start. How did one explain a twirl mixed in with a straighter line ending up in three crosses before going back and making loops with different widths and then just becoming straight gibberish for three meters because the simply observation meant nothing to anybody? Perhaps… Yes, that could work.
‘If you go back into the Domain, I could just recreate one of the sections,’ the Core offered, not sure how else to do it.
‘That works fine but do not try and copy the materials that the runes are made with. That can end very badly,’ the Queen responded quickly, just as quickly going inside the entrance once again. In the meanwhile, the Core tried to figure out one simple thing? What were the Runes made of if not of stone? Was there some special part that it hadn't initially noticed? This needed to be overviewed quickly. Sending out an [Appraisal], it grew unhappy with what was found.
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The Core had hoped it had lost that feature of the skill when it had become upgraded, yet it seemed that there was still much that it couldn’t directly access. Not wanting to be annoyed any further, it went away from the issue, instead of recreating the [Runes] to the best of its abilities.
‘I am not too sure about this one if I am being honest,’ the Queen stated after a minute or two. ‘The starting parts remind of the method used in the north, yet it has to be a very local variation of it. The rest are… incomprehensible. I have not seen a [Magical Languaue] that has used this form of Syntax before. This is either a very unique form of [Runes], an old form of them, or perhaps it is both. I can’t truly say. My years of study seem a bit worthless now.’
There was a similar thought from the Core as it deflated at the negative opinion put out. If the Queen had no insights, it meant that it likely couldn’t get an answer in the next long while. And since [Appraisal] wasn’t up to any good either, the Entity would have to accept that it wouldn’t know the truth. A shame but not it had to get angry about.
‘Were there any other things you needed to show me?’ the Core questioned.
‘There are a few older trees further away from that I believe you would be happy to see, yet your distance away from here is currently… quite limited,’ the Queen stated. ‘Instead, I believe I have found a method for expansion outside which you might be quite happy about. However, it will require you to help with the heavy lifting. Even my personal Mana couldn’t get that ton of material moving.’
That sounded… quite interesting. Just what had the Queen found?
