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Chapter 3: Dire Quest
🕑 Added 2024-01-04 09:52:44 +0000 UTCAfter confirming my Class choice, I could feel a sudden surge of energy coursing through my bruised, tired body, as if it were undergoing some profound changes.
The radiant crystal on the pedestal pulsed with a gentle glow as if acknowledging my selection, but I paid it no attention, my eyes firmly glued to the single line of text that appeared before me.
[Class: Scavenger (lvl.1)]
I still couldn't quite believe it... Me, possessing a true Class.
With a big grin plastered across my weary face, I examined myself, trying to find what had changed. I stretched my arms and did a few squats, but couldn't feel much different than a moment ago. It’s probably because I’m still at first level. I reasoned.
Yet even now, I could feel my eyes getting a tiny bit sharper and my fingers a bit nimbler than before. However, before I could perform some more tests, I was distracted by another line of glyphs.
[Select a foundational Skill]
Huh? There’s even a free Skill? Bring it on! With a dark glee, I eagerly accepted the unexpected prompt before widening my eyes in disbelief.
So many! There were dozens upon dozens of Skills to choose from. It appeared that most of the Skills weren't tied to the respective Classes, and thus, I could shape my future path however I liked.
Although as I was skimming through the bountiful selection, I noticed at first glance that some Skills seemed a lot less useful than others, and by choosing the wrong one, I could seriously cripple my progress.
The problem was that I had only very limited information to work with. Back in the Shelter, everything related to Magic or Classes was a closely guarded secret, so I knew only a few snippets of information that managed to filter out to the masses.
Sadly, this weird-ass glyph thing didn't come with any manual, so I was truly on my own.
Feeling overwhelmed, I simply shook my head and decided to postpone the decision for later as I had an inkling this was something that shouldn't be rushed.
And right now, I have a lot more important things to worry about. Namely, to figure out where I was and how the hell I get back.
This dome-like structure didn't seem to have any openings—it was all just a rough, solid stone all the way around.
I worriedly took a look at my meager rations, realizing I had about two days' worth of food left. Luckily, during the expedition, I had my satchel tightly tied to me to prevent any of my precious possessions from going missing, so it survived the quake just fine.
The problem was water—I had only a little bit left at the bottom of my bottle, and there was no obvious way to refill it.
Thus, feeling anxious, and with the unpleasant memory of my previous encounter with the crystal still fresh in my mind, I went on to explore the pedestal and the aforementioned crystal sitting on top, hoping it would give me some clues on how to escape this place.
I cautiously approached the stone slabs, deciding to first examine the pedestal. Yet I found nothing of interest—it was just what it was: a couple of rocks haphazardly placed atop one another.
Then, while shielding my eyes from the bright light, I went on to examine the crystal itself.
However, I quickly found out that there was nothing of note on its surface. So, with no other option, I took a deep breath, and with great reluctance, I moved my fingers closer, briefly touching it again.
I tensed, yet there was no pull or pulsating light this time. Instead, countless glyphs flew out of it, forming dozens of rows and columns, almost like pages of a giant book.
I blinked a few times, looking at the strange text before realizing I didn't understand much of it. There was, however, one tab that caught my eye.
[Buildings]
Hmm? What's this? I narrowed my eyes, watching in awe the very same phenomena as with the Skill Selection shortly before.
Dozens upon dozens of pages of information instantly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, presenting me with various options to choose from.
Once again, I wanted to put it aside for later and close the tab as I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new information. But then I spotted something that immediately drew my attention.
[Petty Mana mine - It condensates the pure mana produced by the Seed into various mana crystals. (Build cost: 100 Upkeep: 20)]
W-What? Reading the short description over and over again, I felt like my own eyes were playing tricks on me. Wait, does this mean what I think it means? This damn thing can produce mana crystals?
"Hahaha!" I'm gonna be so freaking rich! Without giving it a second thought, I immediately focused on selecting it.
The text shined faintly before disappearing altogether, and then the whole dome shuddered as the wall on the opposite side of the rocky structure split apart, and a dark hole appeared in the middle before everything calmed down again as if nothing had happened.
After mustering enough courage, I then went on to explore this strange new development. Feeling apprehensive, I entered the small opening in the dome's wall and cautiously looked around before I had to pause for a moment to let my eyes adjust to the dim lighting.
It looked like the crystal's radiance didn't quite reach all the way here, shrouding the new tunnel in darkness.
Yet it also seemed as if the walls themselves were glowing, bathing my surroundings in a pale blue light.
I crept forward, incredulously watching as the narrow corridor expanded, forming a spacious elongated cave that stretched for at least thirty meters.
I widened my eyes in awe, looking at the cavern's smooth, curving walls, which sparkled with an otherworldly glow that seemed to emanate from the rock itself. Raising my head, I couldn't shake off the feeling of being inside a giant crystal.
But then, while cautiously observing the thin crystalline formations that hung from the high ceiling above, I saw it.
Right in the middle of the shimmering cavern, there was a single, faintly glowing mana crystal, seemingly growing from the wall itself.
My hands were eager to grab it, and with a bit of effort, I was able to pry it out of the smooth wall with a satisfying snap.
Aren't you a beauty? I grinned widely. By just selling this little bugger, I wouldn’t have to worry about food for at least three months.
And not the usual cheap junk we in the Outskirts had to get by but the real good stuff they grew in the farms on the upper levels... Just imagining all of that made me drool.
But at that moment, a sudden thought crossed my agitated mind. What if I could build more of them...
With a big smile plastered across my face, I quickly bolted out of the Mana mine and ran back toward the glowing crystal with eager anticipation.
However, as I was about to touch the crystal's surface once again, I paused, remembering the mine's brief description.
Wait... it said something about condensating the mana produced by the seed. That would be this thing, right? I thought as I looked at the big crystal.
I tried to focus on it, hoping to get more information, and as soon as the thought crossed my mind, several lines of text appeared before me.
[Petty Seed (lvl. 0) - A tiny seed that seems to pulse with untold potential waits to be planted and cared for by willing hands. (Capacity: 4/100 mana; Production: 80/100 mana per hour)]
Seeing this, I instantly grimaced. Hmm, I guess I was right. It wouldn't be that easy... Not only could it store a mere hundred mana, but with the upkeep, I could build, at best, four more mines before the production reached zero.
I wanted nothing more but to suck this fucker dry; however, I wasn't stupid enough to actually do it, especially since it looked like this glowing crystal was the only thing holding this dome together.
Thus, with a sigh, I dismissed the tab and shook my head dejectedly. Such low mana capacity also explained why many of the buildings were greyed out. It turns out I didn't even have enough mana to build them.
Not to mention, building nothing but mana mine could be a really dumb decision, as I didn't even bother to go through most of the other buildings' descriptions. What if there is something even better?
Wanting to rectify my previous mistake, I eagerly opened the building's tab again, trying to go through them one by one to see if there was something even more useful than the mana mine, but then a sudden ringing noise scared me, and the whole place began violently shaking.
[Alert! Anomaly detected. A rift is forming...]
My blood froze in my veins as the ground began to shake viciously beneath me, bringing back the unpleasant memories of the recent quake.
But, while I was busy battling the growing panic, one part of the dome suddenly started glowing, and a thin crack formed on its rugged surface.
At first, it was just a narrow gap, but then the crack began quickly widening itself until I was left incredulously staring at a large gaping hole whose surface was like a lusterless mirror that reflected nothing but pure darkness.
Getting a really bad feeling about it, I involuntarily took a few unsteady steps back before I came to my senses.
Narrowing my eyes, I then focused my mind on the rift, hoping to obtain some clue about it as I did with the other descriptions, and as if to confirm my worries, an ominous description appeared.
[??? - Lured by the promise of a bountiful feast, an unknown entity forced open a portal to another realm.]
W-What? Before I had the chance to ponder what any of this could mean, I was assaulted with another round of that annoying high-pitched ringing sound as a new tab popped up in front of my eyes.
[Emergency Quest!]
[An unstable rift has formed, allowing monsters to invade the Domain. You must protect the Seed at all costs!]
[Completion reward: A new Skill; Penalty for failure: Death]
Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean by death?! I'm too young and beautiful to die! Especially after everything I had to go through to get here in the first place...
My brain went into overdrive as I frantically read the dire message over and over. "Protect it with what!? There is nothing but rocks!" I angrily exclaimed, feeling overwhelmed by the injustice of it all.
But then I paused, realizing something. Wait, rocks? I think I saw something there...
I hurriedly went back to examine the glyphs, skimming through them while searching for one specific Skill I had previously seen. Ah! Got it!
[Synthesis - The ability to synthesize a construct based on the materials provided.]
So if I provided suitable material... perhaps some sturdy-looking rocks, would it make a creature out of it? A rocky creature sounds like it would be hard enough to withstand a monster attack or two...
I had no idea if it would actually work or if there was some better skill that could help me blast the approaching monsters to oblivion, but there was no more time.
I could feel the ominous energy emanating from the rift, and it looked like it could begin spewing out abominations at any moment.
So I hurriedly selected Synthesis as my foundational Skill and could feel a wave of energy washing over me, filling my agitated mind with a myriad of new information.
I immediately realized that I now instinctively knew how to activate the Skill, so without wasting a breath, I focused on a nearby pile of rocks that came loose when the rift broke through the dome's wall and tried using Synthesis on it.
Please work, Please work.
[Error - Requires a power source!]
Huh? Oh, right! I guess it wouldn't be that easy...
With great reluctance, I then took out my most prized possession - the single faintly shimmering mana crystal I had previously collected. And while reassuring myself that I would certainly be able to get more of them in the future if I made it through this alive, I mentally selected it.
Suddenly, the mana crystal started glowing as it levitated out of my outstretched hand. It stayed in the air for a brief moment before it began to spin rapidly, attracting the surrounding rocks to it as it formed a loose sphere of molten stone.
Then, the whole thing shined brightly, transforming itself into a new shape, while I received another prompt at the same time.
[Synthesis successful! - A new construct was created!]
