“Cal! Cal! It is ok! I’m sorry, I didn’t know!” Her voice calmed me down, the fear in her voice snapping me out of my fury in an indescribable manner. “How do you even know what a Necromancer is?”
<I… I’m sorry, I really don’t know where that came from. I just hate them so much.> I was really confused and had no idea why her words made me so uncontrollably angry.
“It’s ok, Cal.” She shakily stated, still quivering slightly. “That actually may be for the best, there is a church that is quite powerful right now that tries very hard to destroy dungeons that have undead or demonic creatures in them. I was just trying to give you a comprehensive idea of what you could do.”
<What? People try to kill dungeons? Are people going to try to kill me?> I was rather stuck on this point, it seemed somewhat important.
“Yes, but don’t worry too much, usually they prefer to have dungeons stay alive as they are very beneficial to the world.” She soothingly tried to appease me by telling stories of the world, “Flora and fauna alike prosper in areas with high Essence concentration. Plants can use it instead of good soil and sunlight, and animals become much stronger in the presence of Essence.”
<Why do animals get stronger?> Dang it, she was able to distract me so easily!
“Animals gain Essence from the world mainly just by living their lives, and it makes them stronger over time. Other sentient creatures like Humans, Elves, Dwarves, or even Orcs are able to absorb Essence during meditation.” She paused to let me fantasize about all the creatures I could eventually eat.
“Magical beasts have Beast Cores similar to your gem that grow inside them from birth. Every type of creature absorbs Essence, but can only absorb the type they are suited to, until they are really strong, which can take over a hundred years, roughly. This is why I think you are going to be very popular. The Essence you concentrate has no affinity that I can tell, it’s just… pure Essence.” She was still amazed about that fact. Pure Essence was unheard of, even the best cultivators had some taint.
<Is that good?> Did people try to kill popular things?
Dani snapped out of her reverie, “It means everything can thrive in your area of influence if you let it. Plants, animals, Beasts, and creatures of light and shadow.”
<That is good though, right? And why are you emphasizing Beast when you say it?> It was tickling my thoughts oddly.
“Having really pure Essence with no affinity should be very good, I think. Heck, wars may be fought over the right to explore here! I am a lucky wisp!” Dani gleefully exclaimed, flying in a spiral pattern. “Also, I am emphasizing it because Beasts are different from animals, they have gained awareness and can use Essence, becoming far stronger and much more intelligent than their original animalistic counterparts.”
<This is all so interesting!!> Much as I loved learning, I am far more enthusiastic about being able to do things. <So can we start? How do we start?>
Dani launched into another lecture, “Well, we start with an upgrade! Here are a few basics first though. There are many different levels of Essence cultivation. Starting with the lowest, we have G, F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, Heavenly, and Godly. Each rank has ten levels within it. The lowest being zero and the highest at nine. When I got here, you were at G-zero, which is basic life with only the instinct to eat.” She chuckled at that, I had progressed far in intelligence since then. “After making the deal with me you moved to G-rank one, which opens the way for more complex actions and thought. You have enough power already to move to G-rank two, which lets you begin to grow your power and use your own influence intentionally.”
<Intentionally?> Was she being condescending again?
“Remember those spikes poking out of you? Can you do that without being really mad?” Yup, definitely being condescending.
I tried, but couldn’t make anything happen.
<Nope. Where did those come from anyway? There was no quartz there earlier.> I looked at the reflective quartz poking out of the stone.
“You made it with your Essence. If you have absorbed it in the past, you can make it with your Essence. Another ability unique to dungeons.” She showed off her knowledge once again.
<Wow! How do I make things, pretty lady?> I wheedled her.
“Upgrade first.” She was firm on that point.
Well, poo. I thought flattery would do it. <So, how do I upgrade?>
She seemed appreciative of my work ethic. “Get as full of energy as you can, then I’ll guide you through the process.”
Following her instructions, I cultivated and ate - no, I refined! - the plant's energy until I was shaking dangerously again.
<Dani… Help.> I began worriedly.
“It’s ok Cal, focus on your crystal. Do you feel the flaws in the gem? There are a few perfect parts where your facets are smooth and sharp, without cracks or discoloration.” Dani quickly and calmly coached me, “Feel those, find how it is that they bind perfectly whereas the other spots are rough or malformed. Now smooth those bad patches so that they are correctly formed. Try to make your Core as flawless as possible. Focus now, but don’t rush it.”
It was amazing. As she guided me I could feel exactly what she meant, and suddenly perfectly understood the body I was now in. Why had I never tried to understand myself before? I guess it was just not something a normal mind would do. The basic structure of my Core consisted of carbon, but was reinforced by the Essence that I had refined to its most pure form. Only the center of my Core was truly perfect and I could see that my mind resided within in that perfect structure. From this perfect facet I got the blueprints of how my Core needed to be restructured and started applying pressure to the poorly formed outer carbon bonds.
“Careful now, not all at once or you may shatter yourself.” Dani murmured, trying not to break my focus.
*Click*
A small patch of perfectly bonded carbon molecules formed.
*Click* *Click*
As I became used to the process, I was able to accomplish the task faster, letting me make more connections, faster and faster, until with a jolt I found there were no more poorly formed areas. A good thing too, as my light had dimmed enough to nearly extinguish. My mind, losing the single track intensity that had propelled me to this stage, nearly broke under the exhaustion I now felt.
“Cal! Are you awake yet? Cal!” Dani desperately begged, voice hoarse and weak.
<What’s wrong?> I grouched sleepily. That was new. Can I sleep?
“You need to absorb...Essence. Please, hurry...” She pleaded, her light dimming as well.
Her words barely registered in my mind, my thoughts moving at a glacial speed. I was hungry. I reached for the moss, and as per usual it eagerly flowed toward me as well. I started eating, and as I did I only got hungrier, the input of Essence awakening my unquenchable gluttony. Greedily reaching for more moss, I pulled more and more energy from the entire patch of moss, until dying moss started to emit blasts of energy, which shot into me. I stopped pulling Essence, and looked nervously at where it came from.
As I suspected, a small patch of moss withered away, crumbling to dust as I watched. I finished refining what I had, and realized that while this amount of energy would have killed me before I fixed my facets, now it was barely satiating my hunger. I turned my attention to Dani, who was beginning to glow again.