A Dungeon in Xianxia

[Redikai]

AN: This is a pretty old story I wrote years ago that I recently found and read. Figured it wasn't that bad so I cleaned it up a bit and decided to post it. I got about six more chapters to post after this one. I'm might continue from there as a fun little thing to get me back into writing (and because all the worldbuilding was already done in my notes).

---

I felt my blade tear through the Demon Emperor's body for what felt like the thousandth time. But the monster doesn't care. His wounds are already closing. He doesn't dodge; he doesn't flinch, he doesn't even pick up the pace. He just keeps fighting. Despite the massive amount of damage, I know my attacks do, he just keeps fighting. Swinging his great sword faster than sound and soundlessly firing a barrage of spells, all while tanking every single one of my attacks at a methodical pace.

If it wasn't for the fact that I had a World Quest, which I know are always possible, I would've thought this fight just wasn't. It's like he doesn't have a weakness. Jumping to the right, I deflected a magic beam flying towards my face as a Void Bomb tore apart the space I was just standing in. That was the Emperor's favorite combo, apparently. Seeing an opening, I stepped forward and thrust my blade into the top of his stomach- except he shifted his body.

Wait, did he just dodge!?

I mean, I still stabbed him, but- I lean back, barely managing to avoid a sudden horizontal swing of his great sword. Before I managed to catch my balance, I had to roll out of the way of multiple silent spears that suddenly grew out of the ground below me. Followed by even more spells. Far more than he was casting before. This was the first time he had picked up the pace since the fight started. The first time it felt like the demon's mana wasn't infinite.

Despite being forced to dodge attack after attack, I couldn't help but grin. He dodged. That bastard dodged! No matter how much I attacked, he never dodged! Which can only mean one thing... I was about to hit his weak spot. And considering I have True Strike and a ton of strength… all I need is a single strike to bring him down. And I think I have just enough mana to allow that. I really hope I'm not wrong about this or else this is going to be the end for me. So, in the ancient language of magic... that just sounds like English to me due to my omnilingual ability, I say, "Teleport."

Instantly I appeared to the left of a surprised Demon Emperor and plunged my sword just off center from the top of his chest. I bet he thought I was going to teleport behind him based on his delayed reaction. I knew he would be expecting that. That's what I usually do after all. For a moment we both just stood there... and then the Demon Emperor exploded.

A dense wall of mana slammed me into one of the last remaining pillars so hard the nearly unbreakable stone shattered. Which, apparently, was really bad because the castle began to collapse immediately afterward! What kind of trash luck is that?! I thought this kind of thing only happened in video games! I need to get out of here, fast! Picking myself up and out of the rubble, I forced my protesting body to move. I'm exhausted, how long were we fighting? I barely have any mana left-

Before I could take more than a few pained steps forward, the pillar I crashed into fell on top of me. If I was at my full strength then I would've been able to easily get out of the way. If I had balanced my stats, I wouldn't have needed to dodge. Too bad I wasn't and I didn't.

At least it didn't hurt too much to be consumed by the void.

[Foreign Soul Discovered]

Oh? You're still here system? I thought I was dead.

[Foreign Soul is attempting to join Etheria's Cycle of Reincarnation]

Nevermind. So I am dead. I didn't know you handled souls too, but I guess that makes sense.

[Scanning Foreign Soul's Power Rating]

Is that going to affect my new life? I hope it makes it better. I was pretty strong y'know?

[Threat Level: Disaster]

That... doesn't sound good.

[Problem: Soul Level is unacceptable]

Definitely not good.

[Solution: Terminate Soul]

Super not good!

I felt like my very being was starting to be crushed. Shit! What am I supposed to do?! Trying to look around the black void, I actually managed to find something. A small, white, crack that seemed to pulse with energy. I willed myself over to it despite the crushing force squeezing me from all sides. I don't know what this is, but it doesn't matter. I'm literally dying right now. Re-dying? Whatever, it doesn't matter.

Reaching out towards the crack, I felt it pushing against me. As I desperately tried to force my way into it, I felt like my nonexistent legs were about to break. Then, with a shattering sound, I got my hand in-!

And felt my entire being sucked into a realm of colors, sensations, sounds, and tastes that filled my entire existence. It's like an ocean made of the taste of purple was trying to wash my mind away. It was overwhelming, indescribable. The only thing holding me together was my single-minded desire to survive. I forced myself to push through sounds that I never knew could be made, ignored the taste of gray, and eventually, I found myself somewhere new.

Which is when my mind decided it had enough and I passed out.

 

[Redikai]

I'm not sure how long I was unconscious, but at some point I... Just suddenly snapped into consciousness. It was a strange feeling. There was no slow transition as your brain cleared up; it just happened. A weird feeling made all the stranger by the fact that I could only see a single thing.

A blue crystal ball. That was it. Yet, despite it taking up my whole vision and having nothing to compare it to, I could still somehow tell it was exactly ten inches in diameter. I'm not sure how I know that, though, well, no, that's a lie. I do know why I know. It's because this crystal is me. Yeah, you can imagine how I feel about that.

Seriously, why the hell did I get turned into a freaking rock? I'm a Hero y'know? Haven't I earned a better afterlife than this? Honestly, I would've just let my soul get destroyed if I knew this would happen... well, not really. Still, this kind of sucks. But fine, I can work with this. This can be worse than dealing with the Demon Lord of Mind. I just need to keep calm and think logically. Let's see if I still have access to the system. 'Status'.

[Status

Name: Ray Wood
Species: Origin Dungeon
Race: N/A
Age: 0
Titles: Hero, Twice Lived
Rank: Fánrén Rank (0%)

Uniqueness: Dungeon Heart
Skills: True Strike, Basic Dungeon Management, Mana Manipulation, Create Dungeon]

Oh boy. That's... different. I've lost almost all of my titles, which is rough considering I worked really hard for some of those, and the level and stats sections have completely vanished. I have no idea how to react to that. Okay, let's deal with the most pressing matter, my species. Apparently, I'm an Origin Dungeon which I've never heard of. I know what dungeons are, I've conquered quite a few even, so what is it system?

...

Hello-

[Origin Dungeon: The first dungeon to ever be born and the source of all future dungeons. Grants skill, Create Dungeon, and doubles mana regeneration.]

There we go. I was worried for a second that I wasn't going to get any descriptions. That would've made this much harder. Normally doesn't take that long, though.

So not only am I a dungeon, but I'm the first dungeon? That... can't be good at all. I remember the stories of how dungeons were treated originally on Etheria. Before the Adventurer's Guild was set up, dungeons were treated as monster nests to immediately be destroyed instead of the treasure generators they are now. Not that I want to become a glorified slave, but... it's better than death.

I'll think more about this later, first I gotta finish looking through my status. So what does Twice Lived mean? I already know Hero is what gives me True Strike and luck... huh. How will that work without having stats? I get the feeling loot drops might not be a thing around here if stats aren't either. Maybe it'll make me actually lucky? That would honestly be more useful. Anyways, tell me about the title system!

[Twice Lived: Despite dying once, you have kept all of the memories of your previous life. Grants, advanced memory recollection. Repeat this process to upgrade the title.]

...Yeah, no. I'll just take the increased memory. I'd rather not die again. I don't even know how I would even do it again. Now, what is fan- fen- fanren rank? In fact, what are ranks in general?

[Rank: Your current level of cultivation.]

[Fánrén Rank: A person who doesn't cultivate.]

Well, that tells me everything… not. Although, I feel like I've heard of cultivation before. It's where you absorb energy to become stronger, right? I remember doing something like that in Etheria to increase my maximum mana without investing my stat points. Not that I have stats anymore. So, what are the other ranks?

...

Nothing? Guess I'll have to unlock them for answers. Then, what's this whole 'uniqueness' business about?

[Uniqueness: Any interesting/important physical characteristics a creature has.]

Then what does Dungeon Heart mean?

[Dungeon Heart: The heart of a dungeon. As long as it remains intact and within the dungeon, the dungeon and its inhabitants will remain.]

Got it, don't let my dungeon heart get hurt. My dungeon heart, I'm guessing, is this crystal that takes up my entire view. Now give me my skill descriptions, except for Mana Manipulation and True Strike. I already know what those do.

[Basic Dungeon Management: The basics of dungeon control. Currently contains: Claim, Create, and Destroy.]

[Create Dungeon: The ability to create a new dungeon once the proper conditions are met. Exclusive to Origin Dungeons. Requirements: Not met]

Not even going to tell me what the requirements are cool. Oh well, at least we're getting somewhere! Ignoring the create dungeon skill, let's see what I can do. System, what can claim, build, and destroy do?

[Claim: By infusing things with your mana they become part of your dungeon body.]

[Create: Can create any previously absorbed or claimed things and creatures from mana]

[Absorb: Can absorb any creatures or things that belong to the dungeon for resources.]

I see... I guess I'll get to claiming then. It's not like I can do anything else. Concentrating on the skill, I feel my mana spread with more ease than I've ever had before. I immediately feel my vision expanding alongside it. I think I'm on... a shelf? It's hard to tell because the mana keeps floating away. Am I being used as a decoration? I should be careful of catching anyone's attention, then. Pushing my mana into the shelf I'm on, my vision spreads a lot slower than when I threw the mana into the air. But at least it isn't just spilling away.

After what felt like thirty minutes I managed to claim the entire shelf. Although in all honesty, the shelf is only three feet long, so I don't feel too impressed. I did learn something interesting, however! I can feel anything that touches my claimed area. That's how I felt the fancy dagger and human skull next to me before I claimed them as well.

They're also the only things besides me on this shelf. The dagger is completely normal despite how fancy it looks, and the skull is unfortunately real. I wonder what kind of person lives here? An emo kid? I sure hope so. I mean, it's not exactly a common thing to use a real skull as a decoration, but it could happen! Maybe it's even common here. ...Yeah, I doubt it. Whatever, I'll deal with that when I've claimed this whole place.

Let's move on from this dinky shelf and into the walls! Pushing my mana into the wall right next to me I took in the feeling of the oak wood. It felt stronger than normal oak somehow. Slowly claiming the wall I couldn't help but sigh. This is going to take forever. Well... at least this life is much calmer than before. For now.

 

[Redikai]

I finished claiming the entire room! It took all day, but I managed to claim each wall and all the things in here! And there are quite a few things in here, too. Right below my shelf, there's a big mahogany desk with a half-filled bottle of something called Firebear Wine on it and a soft green chair. On the floor, there's a large and intricate blue carpet that looks pretty old, and on the opposite wall, there's a brown flag with a man being stabbed in the heart painted on it. This is already pretty weird and is made only more disturbing when you realize that it's painted with human blood. Which I now know how to make. Oh, and I also found some unlit candles hanging on the wall.

Besides the items in the room, there are also two oak doors, both of which have basic mechanical locks. One of the doors, I think, leads outside because its other side is colder, which is why I'm starting with the other door. Figure I might as well map this whole place out before pushing out into the great unknown. Starting from the claimed door, I pushed my mana into these new walls. While my awareness slowly grew I couldn't help but wonder where the owner of this place was. It's already been an entire day already and this place feels way too clean to be abandoned.

They're probably out raid- oh. I'm out of mana. I don't think that's ever happened to me accidentally; normally you start filling woozy long before then. What should I do now? I'm out of mana and I literally can't move. Guess... I'll meditate so that I can regen my mana faster. Emptying my mind, I entered a state of pure unfocused focus that I'd entered many times before. Turning my attention outside of myself, I reached out into the world and found something that definitely wasn't mana. Mana feels far more... chaotic, than this new energy.

Can I even absorb this? I hope so because I really don't feel like waiting, who knows how long to get back to work. Pulling on the wild energy with my will, I dragged it to my heart. The place all of my mana has been coming from. The moment the energy flowed into my crystal, I learned exactly what the energy was called: qi. Seconds later I felt it change into mana.

So qi exists as well, interesting. I had always sort of wondered about that after learning about mana.

Pulling on the qi again, I continued the arduous process of refilling my mana pool. I spent the next three hours just absorbing qi. It's a good thing I did this a lot in my last life; the monotony would probably drive most people mad. Finally, however, I felt that I had reached my maximum capacity. A maximum that is definitely much higher than I started with, might I add. Although, I think I might've absorbed all the qi in this building. I hope no one notices that.

...

Back to claim the walls! Spreading my mana through the walls once more, I spent the next twelve hours, I completely focused on claiming everything in this side room. Time really does fly when you aren't capable of being tired, hungry, and can only do a single thing...

Moving onto the room itself. The biggest thing I found was a large woolen bed that was covered in quite a few, let's just say, "fluids". Ignoring that, I actually found two very interesting things! Starting with the bigger of the two things. At the end of the previously mentioned bed, I found a large chest! It has a pretty complex lock on it, but that really wasn't a problem for me. Inside there was a bunch of dirty clothes, a large pile of silver and copper coins, and an orange crystal called Firebear Core filled with qi. Absorbing that nearly gave me half of my mana back.

That wasn't the end either; my second find was even more interesting! Hidden beneath the floorboards. There was a small, child-sized, compartment that had a large pile of gold coins. That's not the end of it, though! In the wall of the small compartment, there was a hollow space that had a thin book in it. If it wasn't for the fact that I can feel what my walls feel, or in this case don't feel, I wouldn't have even noticed it because the space is completely sealed with no way of opening it.

An extra secret compartment within a secret compartment! At this point, I was super excited about what could possibly be in this book. As soon as I completely claimed the book a notification appeared before me.

[Skill Learned: Savage Blood Cultivation
An incomplete Fánrén-class cultivation technique. To cultivate this technique one must bathe themselves in the blood of humans they've killed while cultivating to develop one's blood Qi and advance in the ranks. Limit: Liánxì Rank
Special: A Savage Blood cultivator may sometimes enter a berserker's rage when nearing death which will double their strength at the increasing cost of their sanity.]

So to advance in this technique you have to kill humans and bathe in their blood? Does a vampire live here? A bandit vampire? It's possible considering this house doesn't have windows. Although I doubt a vampire would be willing to use anything low-class considering their pride. I'll leave that theory as a solid maybe. Either way, whoever lives here is definitely a psycho.

I just can't catch a break, can I? Whatever, I'll deal with these bandits later, for now, I need to get to work on my next move. I know I need to start expanding out of this house, I just need to choose a direction to expand to. But since I have no information about my surroundings, I'll go in every direction!

Pouring my mana into the ground right outside I only find dirt and some weeds. Pushing further I felt something resist my mana but that was quickly followed by a silent pop. It happened so fast that I didn't even know what happened. Did I break something? Oh. I just claimed a bunch of earthworms. As soon as I realized that I also got a notification saying I unlocked something called the creature list. It's just a screen that tells me how much of a certain species I have. Right now it's only showing my new worms.

Besides that initial surprise, I spent the rest of the day claiming the land around me. I've been staying mostly on the surface, but I still got quite a few more earthworms, weeds, and even a colony of ants. In bigger news, I found a stone structure that I'm going to start claiming as soon as I regen my mana. A process that is taking much longer, I should add. My current working theory is that my mana capacity is directly tied to my dungeon's size. It's the only thing that explains my massive increase in mana capacity.

Now I just need to find out how to increase my mana regen.

 

[Redikai]

It turns out that the stone structure was a well! Not a very deep one though, barely twenty feet. But it was deep enough for me to claim a bunch of water! Now that I've found a sort of starting point I think I'm going to keep expanding in this direction. With any luck, I'll hit an aquifer and-

[Your first intruder has entered your dungeon!]

[You have unlocked the dungeon management skill, Analyze!]

My consciousness instantly snapped to a man-shaped bubble of qi that was lowering a bucket into my well. So there are people around here! [Analyze] before he leaves!

[Status

Name: Huài Jiāhuo
Species: Human
Race: Commoner
Age: 27
Titles: Savage Blood Bandit
Rank: Fánrén Rank (75%)

Uniqueness: N/A
Skills: Basic Swordsmanship, Thievery]

Oh... a normal bandit. I know I shouldn't be surprised, the other house already hinted that this was a bandit's base but I was kind of hoping I was wrong. At least they aren't a vampire or thrall. I watch as Huài pulled up a bucket of water and left my area. As soon as he did I felt the water in the bucket become disconnected from me. I wonder if something bad will happen if he drinks that. I hope so.

Back to what I was saying before I'm going to keep expanding in this direction. Although now I'm aiming for towards where that bandit came from. Claiming in a straight line it only takes me an hour to find another building. As usual, I began my process of claiming the building. Starting with the floor I spread until I reached the bucket from before. How do I know it's the same bucket? Because it was still partially claimed and full of mana that was slowly becoming no longer mine. The water was missing too.

Speaking of, this place has a small group of people in it. Four to be specific. They actually completely blocked me from being able to claim an entire corner of the building because of their aura. I couldn't even break through it no matter how hard I tried. Even so, I did manage to get a good amount of the building by the time morning came. Worryingly though, there are thirty beds. On the bright side, I got quite a bit from this place. Tons of coins, playing cards, a big table, booze, beds, a couple of weapons, windows, food, roaches, and best of all, a litter of rats that were hiding in the rafters.

There was also a mother but... she was putting up resistance and when I tried to force the connection she literally exploded. I didn't even know that could happen. I made sure to be much more careful with the young but they didn't put up any fight at all. I'm guessing younger creatures are easier to claim. Since these newly claimed rats are too young to take care of themselves, I think it's time I use the creation skill.

It was super easy actually despite being something I don't think any human could do. I just had to think about creating a rat and I immediately knew how to shape this weird non-euclidean mana formation that, once completed, created a rat from nothing. As soon as it was created I ordered it to take care of the newborns. A command I quickly corrected to raise when I felt the rat was going to eat them. Got to be careful with that. Interestingly, I can see through the rat's eyes if I concentrate!

It was only hours later that I finally had a chance to claim the rest of the room when those four bandits decided to stop playing their card game and go to bed. Halfway through claiming the table, six more bandits came in but they went right to sleep. I think they were probably guarding considering they had their swords on them.

At this point, I was planning to meditate again but I noticed that my mana wasn't as low as I expected. In fact, I could feel it going up, albeit slowly. What's going on? Before I literally couldn't tell if my mana was even going up.

Spreading my awareness across my entire dungeon space I almost instantly found the reason. I didn't notice before but each living thing in my dungeon was giving me qi to turn into mana. I didn't notice before because all of my creatures were giving me so little that it barely mattered. These bandits were almost a hundred percent of my mana regen!

I might just let them live now, if only as batteries. This is going to speed up claiming everything up by a ton! Especially if I combine it with meditation. Let's push this claiming spree into hyperdrive!

Going through a much quicker session of meditation I immediately throw myself back into claiming. I once again don't have any idea of where to go so I'll use the old plan. To expand in every direction from the bandit chief's house. It's still a slow process but that doesn't matter with the amount of mana I'm chucking around. I'm pretty sure I have more than an average mage. And it's only been a day and a half! In less than an hour, I already found another building.

The building is completely made of stone and as I pushed inside I instantly found a bunch of bugs of all kinds. The first room was, to my surprise, empty besides those previously mentioned bugs. Quickly meditating I made my way into a staircase that descended to the ground. Pushing my mana down the short flight of stairs I kept pushing forward into a new room.

As I pushed forward I found rusty iron bars that extend from the ceiling to the floor. It took me a moment to realize what I was claiming. This was a prison. A prison in a bandit camp. A bandit camp that has at least one person that gets stronger by bathing in human blood. If I had a mouth I'd probably sigh. No matter where you go some things just don't change do they?

Moving my mana into the cells themselves I found that most were thankfully empty. It was only as I approached the end of the jail that I found evidence of people in the form of human feces. Disgusting. Claiming it and the flies on it anyways I moved to the last corner of the jail where I found the one thing I really didn't want to find. There, huddled up in the largest cell, I could feel fifteen humans chained to the wall. All girls ranged from twelve to twenty-five based on analysis. Starving if their thin bubbles of qi were anything to go by too.

...Can you believe I even considered leaving these bandits alive?

 

[Redikai]

Pushing down the feeling of absolute fury I clear my mind. I'm going to kill these bandits, that was already clear. But I need to get to work. Claiming the last bit of the room I shivered at how thin these girls' qi shields are. They're so weak, I think I could actually claim them if I tried. The very thought of that makes me viscerally angry.

Moving back above ground, I continued steadily claiming everything. At this point, I managed to claim a latrine that was behind the barrack as I'm calling the building with beds. There was a big nest of rats there that I claimed as well. I also found a couple more buildings but I wanted to focus on claiming the ground for now. Get a wider area and all that.

After a few hours I started doing so I suddenly felt a group of twenty people entering the dungeon. Snapping my consciousness over I felt part of the group split off towards an unclaimed building with the rest heading straight toward the barracks. When they entered the building I looked through my rat's eyes and saw a bunch of unwashed bandits carrying a wooden chest which they immediately threw on the ground, spilling it open and revealing the weapons and gold inside. Cheering they immediately started drinking and celebrating another successful raid.

Man, these bastards make it hard to stay calm.

At least the qi they're giving me has made my mana regen increase by a considerable amount.

Forcing myself to listen to the details of the raid I made sure to analyze each one of these men. Apparently, they attacked the carriage being ridden by the local village chief's daughter. It had ten guards with only one of them being a cultivator. A third of the village's fighting force if what I'm hearing is right. The normal bandits overwhelmed the guards with numbers while the bandit chief fought the cultivator.

So where is he? Did he die in battle? That does happen pretty often. But it sounds like they won and I doubt these guys would have survived if that was the case. Then, suddenly, my mana regen doubled.

Transporting my consciousness over I see a bull of a man enter the dungeon area and walk straight toward the jail. The amount of qi coming off of him felt like a violent river that pushed me away. So much so that it took me a moment to even realize there were more people with him. It was hard to tell but I think I see a man and woman being dragged forward on chains. I felt my nonexistent blood boil as I watched him descend into the jail. He chained the new group to the wall and then took four of the girls from the first set in his arms. They didn't even try to resist as he left with them. Trying to ignore the poor women I analyzed the man before he left.

[Status

Name: Fan Jian
Species: Human
Race: Commoner
Age: 46
Titles: Savage Blood Bandit Chief,
Rank: Liánxì Rank (99%)

Uniqueness: N/A
Skills: Savage Blood Cultivation, Butchery, Intermediate Swordsmanship]

So he's not dead. I was hoping he would be. He's the first person I've seen of a higher rank. I'm not sure how I'm going to get rid of him but he's a high-priority target. As he left in the direction of the barracks, probably to join the party, I went down and analyzed the new people, starting with the man.

[Status

Name: Yīng Yì
Species: Human
Race: Commoner
Age: 22
Titles: First Guard of The Forest Village
Rank: Liánxì Rank (49%)

Uniqueness: N/A
Skills: Dancing Wolf Cultivation, Basic Falling Leaf Swordsmanship
Condition: Crippled

Seeing the crippled status I felt confused. His limbs look perfectly fine. He doesn't seem to be having any problems moving either so... System?

[Crippled: A condition received when the user has lost the ability to contain/circulate qi.]

I see... it's like a wizard getting their mana pool destroyed. So he won't be any help. That unfortunate. Let's see the other girl then.

[Status

Name: Bao Lin
Species: Human
Race: Cursed
Age: 19
Titles: Princess of The Forest Village
Rank: Fánrén Rank (0%)

Uniqueness: Yin Body
Skills: Basic Knitting, Reading, Intermediate Cleaning, Basic Cooking
Condition: Mana Starved (64%)]

Woah, let's start with her race.

[Cursed: A race of humans born with a great affinity to only mana.]

Cursed? That's not cursed that's a Witch! There were only two of those in my previous life and one was my party member! Focusing on the bubble around her I noticed that it was made of an extremely thin veil of mana. As I was staring she suddenly turned to face my direction.

Does she somehow feel me?

Hesitantly Bao Lin slowly asks, "I-is someone there?"

She did! That's impressive. Dungeon mana is known for being particularly neutral and hard to feel. Shame I can't answer her though. Maybe I can find a way to communicate-

"Why? I can hear you just fine."

What. You can hear me? How? Back in my old world, there has never been a documented case of a dungeon communicating without a host!

"I... don't understand what you mean?"

Seeing Bao Lin speaking into the air Yīng Yì said, "My lady...? Who are you talking to? There's no one there."

Bao Lin made a confused face and responded, "Do you not hear the voice of a young man?"

Yīng Yì just shook his head and looked even more concerned. I should probably say something.

He can't hear me. I'm not sure why you can but I won't look a gift horse in its mouth.

Bao Lin looked over at Yīng Yì before telling him what I had said.

Bao Lin started questioning me. "Who are you? Can you help us?"

My name is Ray Wood. I'm... I'm the building you're currently inside. It's hard to explain.

Bao Lin's eye's widened. "You're a spirit building!? How could a bandit camp possibly have one...?"

Uh, sure, we'll go with that for now. As for how? Your guess is as good as mine. All I care about right now is killing these bandits.

"You want to kill the bandits?" She seemed surprised for some reason.

Yeah, they're pieces of shit. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it yet but I'm working on it.

Bao Lin seemed to think for a moment before quietly saying, "If I can help somehow, please tell me."

... I'll get back to you on that.

Floating away I go back to claiming everything around me. As I do I think about how I'm going to get rid of these bandits. Dungeons normally spawn monsters, but how do I do that?

[Your first worm has evolved into a lesser worm naturally! You have unlocked the evolution aspect of dungeon management.]

Oh, like that. Convenient.

 

[Epro987654]

Definitely watched. Hopefully this continues because I really enjoyed it.

 

[Andorxor]

A witch without mana and a dungeon with the manareserves of one. They just need to find a way for her to tap into his manapool.

 

[Happerry]

A good story, but there's two typo issues I noticed.

First off, and most important because it gives a fairly bad first impression, in the story description, there's "the Demon Emporer" <- I think that should be Emperor.

Secondly, this sentence is missing an 'A'.

the stone structure was well!

Click to shrink...

I'm looking forwards to seeing where this goes.

 

[Redikai]

A good story, but there's two typo issues I noticed.

First off, and most important because it gives a fairly bad first impression, in the story description, there's "the Demon Emporer" <- I think that should be Emperor.

Secondly, this sentence is missing an 'A'.


I'm looking forwards to seeing where this goes.

Click to shrink...

Thanks, fixed.

 

[Redikai]

AN: I practically rewrote parts of this chapter but I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I also went back and fixed/changed some stuff in the previous chapters. Can you believe I accidentally left Yīng Yì as Princess of The Forest Village? That's what I get for posting this while practically sleep-deprived. Also, the next two chapters might take a couple of hours because they need a lot more editing.

---

Sending my consciousness over to my new lesser worm I can immediately tell see the differences. Where there had once been a small worm that I had accidentally claimed there was now a giant thing almost two and a half feet long and roughly as thick as a dollar coin. It even has a gross little mouth with tiny pointy teeth! Neat. Besides the visual changes, there's also an addition to its status.

[Status

Name: n/a
Species: Worm
Race: Lesser Worm
Age: 0
Titles: First Evolver (Mana)
Rank: Fánrén Rank (10%)

Uniqueness: Thick Skin
Skills: Crawl]

Its rank is at ten percent now, interesting. If I remember correctly lesser worms were level... ten, I think, back on Etheria. Is it one-for-one here? If so I might be kind of screwed, levels were practically exponential in Etheria and the average rank of these bandits seems to be around sixty percent. And I have no idea where Lianxi ranks even... oh wait, system.

[Liánxì Rank: A person who has opened up their body to Qi.]

I have no idea how strong that is... So, what does First Evolver do?

[First Evolver (Mana): You are the first creature in the world to evolve using mana. Increases future evolution potential and reduces evolution requirements.]

Cool, sounds like they'll be pretty important. I'll name you Wormy! Please evolve into something strong as quickly as you can, alright? Oh, and start digging some tunnels under the well. Watching Wormy dig slowly dig away I opened up my status to take a look at my new skill.

[Evolve: By infusing your creatures/monsters with mana they will evolve into a superior creatures. Can also happen for free naturally which may cause a random mutation.]

So that's how dungeons make monsters? By evolving them? What the hell did goblins evolve from then? People? But that's more of a devolution and... well, I was going to say that's impossible since dungeons can't claim sapients but I've already seen that that's not exactly true. I've never heard of it happening before though. Maybe it's just an Origin Dungeon thing? What will happen if I claim a person? I'll have to test it on a bandit if I get the chance.

But later, right now it's time to start working on some monsters! The first thing I chose to experiment on is my ants since I have tons of them. Activating my skill on the first small insect I find a list of possible evolutions that appears.

[Lesser Ant: A very large ant. Cost: Very Low]
[Worker Ant: A stout ant good for digging through earth and carrying large loads. Cost: Very Low]
[Shield Ant: A large ant with much greater defense and a shielded head. Cost: Very Low]
[Warrior Ant: A lithe ant with great strength and sharpened pincers. Cost: Very Low]
[Leader Ant: A small monster ant that is much smarter than its counterparts. Cost: Low]

They're all pretty good. A bit annoying that I don't know exactly how much they cost but I guess it doesn't matter thanks to wonderful mana regen. Getting four more ants I confirm a different evolution for all of them and feel a small amount of mana flow into them. Barely one percent of my current total... which is actually quite a lot. As the mana settled the ants glowed in white light and began to grow. After a few seconds, the light faded and I looked over their new forms.

The lesser ant was the biggest by far, about medium dog-sized. The shield ant was next only at small dog size. Although it was bulkier with its whole body being covered in thick chitin and a wide flat head. The warrior ant's size was surprisingly in the middle at only a foot and a half but its pincers were a lot larger and sharper than before. The worker ant became as big as a foot and its pincers were bigger and flatter. Like shovels. Out of all of them, the leader ant was the one that grew the least, only to the size of a fist. Despite its small size, I could tell that this is the one that had the biggest change. Its eyes had a tinge of awareness you only see in higher-tier monsters.

Which was all pretty cool except I need to find a place to hide these guys. They turned out to be a lot larger than I expected and literally burst out of the ground when they evolved. Which I guess is better than suffocating. But we need to move before someone spots them.

Leader ant, lead them to the back of the chief's house and dig down! You'll meet up with Wormy! Make sure to cover the hole!

Taking a moment to make sure that they understood the order I started claiming the land Wormy's tunnels below my core room. Although I've mostly been focusing on the surface I have been slowly claiming the underground as well but I'll need a couple of hours before I can start doing anything useful with it. In the meantime, I want to talk to Bao Lin some more. Trying to keep my claiming going, I split my attention to the jail.

As my consciousness entered their cell I heard a conversation.

The deep voice of Yīng Yi spoke in a hushed but worried voice, "We can't just trust some disembodied voice, my lady. Even if it is truly a spirit-building. Remember, we are in the Savage Blood Bandit's camp. Imagine the horrors that must have taken place here that caused it to awaken!"

In an annoyed tone, Bao Lin quietly argued back. "I know the risks, Ying Yi. But what choice do we have? I can't think of any other way for us to get out of here. We have nothing left to lose."

I didn't want to interrupt their conversation but at this point Bao Lin noticed me.

"You're back!"

Yeah... I'm back.

"Have you found a way to get us out of here?" Bao Lin looked at me with eyes filled with hope. A sight I've seen far too many times. Shaking that thought away I answered.

I have a plan. But it'll take a while to complete.

"What is it!? Can we help?"

Thanks for the offer but I'm not sure how either of you could help. My plan right now is to dig a hole under where the bandits all sleep, fill it with monsters and make the ground cave in. If the fall doesn't get them, the monsters will. Not sure how viable that is at the moment though.

Bao Lin blinked. "You can make demon beasts?"

Well, I wouldn't call them demons I-

A huge rush of mana and knowledge interrupted me.

[You gained the skills, Basic Knitting, Basic Cooking, and Intermediate Cleaning.]

[Congratulations!

The first sapient of many has died within your dungeon! As a reward you will be granted one random free monster!]

[You can now create 'Slimes'!]

"Are you okay? You stopped talking." Bao Lin's worried voice barely registered in my mind.

I snapped to the barracks I felt the mana surge and immediately found the bandits in a panic. Why are they panicking? Who died? Was it the chief? That was so much mana. Where's the body? It's not here.

...Oh.

It's not here... because I absorbed it. They're panicking because they just saw a body turn into mana for what is probably the first time in their lives. This... might is an issue.

While everyone else was panicking, chief Fan Jian walked over to one of the other girls and, without hesitation, snapped her neck. After a few seconds, her body too started to disassemble into mana. The incredible rush of mana and the knowledge of the new intermediate cooking skill almost made me forget the woman that just died. I forced the euphoria away and focused on Fan Jian.

He was staring at the spot where the woman just faded into mana.

Then, with unconcealed hostility, he yelled, "Shut the fuck up!" His voice was loud and booming. But that wasn't what silenced everyone in the room. It was the bloody aura that filled it. Even I was a bit shocked at his bloodlust. That was extremely high, even for a bandit. What's he going to do?

 

[Suseiseki]

Looks good, I hope you know how to portrait the idiocy that is face and the weird young masters that kill 5 gens up and down for daring.

 

[Gwedillion]

This is probably about the missing bearcore thing and the other stuff he stole.

 

[Redikai]

Voice trembling with fury, Fan Jian spoke. "Who... is trying to stop me from cultivating."

His question sent the crowd of bandits into a wild frenzy. They were accusing each other, pleading for mercy, and making up excuses, some even looked like they were already planning to escape. Then from within the disarray, someone blamed the new prisoners. Not long after one of the bandits accused the prisoners of somehow preventing Fan Jian's progress despite being locked up. A theory the desperate bandits immediately latched onto.

"That makes sense!"

"Yeah! This only started after you brought them right?"

"Just kill 'em and things will be normal again!"

Becoming more and more confident in the idea that the prisoners are to blame, Fan Jian's face grew ugly. Then, with another resounding shout, he yelled, "Are you all fucking idiots!? I crippled those fucking cultivators and the girl is a fucking cursed! How the hell could any of them even do anything!? Are you dumbasses trying to make me waste more blood?"

The bandits immediately backpedaled.

"Of course not boss!"

"Yeah! That was a stupid idea."

"I bet the one who said it is the one doing all this!"

Another wave of bloodlust silenced them again. Taking in a frustrated breath, Fan Jian continued. "The only people that know that I need blood... are you lot. Which means there's only one only possibility ain't there? We have a traitor among us."

The whole room tensed. The bandits started to shuffle and give each other looks of distrust with the armed ones putting their hands to their sabers.

Scanning the room with a murderous eye Fan Jian said. "This celebration is over. I want you all to find whoever the fuck is getting in my way and bring him to me. Whoever does find the bastard will be rewarded. Get to work!" When he finished he stormed out of the barracks in the direction of his house.

Shit! Are my ants behind the house yet? Blinking over to the leader ant I let out a metaphorical sigh of relief. They made just barely made it. The lesser ant only just arrived behind the building but the rest were already in the ground. To my surprise, the worker ant was already digging a tunnel leading under the house. I didn't even have to order them to do that. Thank you leader ant. I'll make you some more worker ants later.

But right now I need to focus on the big brute who's on his way to my core room. Making sure that none of my mana is outside of the walls I can't help but worry that Fan Jian will realize I'm alive. I have nothing that could prevent this man from crushing me. Maybe I could quickly spawn a tidal wave of warrior ants? Would that be enough to-?

The door flew open as Fan Jian practically ran in, quickly slamming the door short behind him. He looked around the room for anything out of the ordinary moment before heading to his room. Locking the door behind him he repeated the same process before heading to his chest and rummaging through it. Uh oh.

Fan Jian stopped. Then he started trashing the room in anger. "I knew it! Those fucking bastards took my fucking Demon Core!" Throwing his chest so hard it shattered against the wall I watched as he forced himself to calm down. And then went to the secret compartment. Carefully counting his gold he gave one more look around before opening the super secret compartment. Placing his hand on it, there was a pop, and he pulled out the small wooden wall as if it wasn't completely sealed a moment ago. I then felt as he filled the tiny room with his qi for about a minute. When he finally stopped he let out a sigh of relief and put the wall back. Afterward, Fan Jian laid down on his bed and lightly whispered to himself, "It really is a traitor then. I guess those cripples get to live for a little longer..." before seemingly trying to fall asleep.

That... was interesting. Was he worried that someone had found his book? I figured it was supposed to be a secret considering how hidden it is but he seemed genuinely fearful. Maybe I could create some chaos by making some copies and spreading them around the camp? Depending on how Fan Jian reacts I might be able to get at least a few bandits killed like that. I'll think about it.

Well, now that the danger has passed I should get back to work. Leaving the bandit tossing and turning I get back to claiming earth, this time focused on the tunnels below the house... that I was already starting to claim? Can I just set things to happen automatically? How did I do that? That would make things much easier. Well then, keep digging down guys! Oh and, as I promised, a couple more worker ants. Hmm, could I just upgrade to get monster ants without spending mana? I'll need to get to that later.

Right now I have a conversation that I rudely dropped to pick up again with Bao Lin.

Instantly snapping my mind over to the cell a small eep sounded throughout the room.

"Is something wrong my lady?" Ying Yi's question made Bao Lin blush as went to face me.

"I'm fine. The building spirit just... surprised me."

Yīng Yì nodded his head after a second passed and simply laid against the dirty wall.

Bao Lin cleared her voice before addressing me, "Hello again Mister Ray Wood. Is everything alright?"

Everything is fine now. But... two of the women that got taken away were killed.

Bao Lin's eyes widened, "They- they died? Why?"

I don't want to think about how the first one died. However, the second one got her neck snapped after I absorbed the first one's body.

"You... absorbed her body?"

I turn dead things into mana.

"Mana?"

I'll get to that. What is important is that I accidentally bought you all more time. I think Fan Jian, the bandit leader, wanted to bathe in their blood to become stronger. Since I absorbed-

"Bathe in their blood!?"

Yeah, their blood. Stop interrupting me. It's his cultivation technique apparently. As I was saying, since I absorbed their bodies Fan Jian can't get their blood and because he can't get the blood to bathe in he isn't going to kill anyone yet. It was an accident but still, you're welcome.

Bao Lin made an uncomfortable face before saying thanks.

"I know he's a bandit but I can't believe he was using a Demonic technique."

Yīng Yì snorted. "I can. It explains why he was so strong despite being only a minor stage above me."

"I just wish we had known sooner. Jinhua would have surely sent reinforcements if they had known we were dealing with a demonic cultivator."

Yīng Yì looked away and didn't answer.

I guess that means they wouldn't have. Is that why you guys were carrying a literal chest of gold?

Bao Lin's shoulders slumped. "It was everything our village had to offer. It was our only chance to receive help from even just a Liánxì cultivator."

Sounds rough buddy.

She frowned. Probably at my lack of reaction. But honestly, this isn't the first time I've seen authorities that needed to be bribed into doing their job. Still, I guess that was a little mean.

Sorry, we just don't really have time for a pity party right now. And I have some questions.

She took a deep breath. "I suppose you're right. Please, ask away."

 

[Redikai]

AN: This is the last chapter that was already pre-written that, like chapter five, I almost completely rewrote. As for the next chapter... I'm working on it. I figured since people seem fairly interested that I'll keep it going. Oh, and please point out any errors you find, I try to be thorough but some pretty big ones can slip by me.

---

Question one, will there be any backup? Or is it just you two?

Bao Lin shook her head. "There are only two other cultivators in our village. My Father and Uncle. But Father is far too old to fight and Uncle needs to protect the village."

So it's just you two... Is there any way to fix your friend here then? Get him back into fighting condition? I know he's crippled but I can tell he still has qi inside of him.

Bao Lin's face became dark. Taking a deep breath she answered, "The bandit chief used his qi to shatter my Ying Yi's internal qi circulation. There is no 'fix'. My Yīng Yì... will never cultivate again."

So... a little more complicated than a destroyed mana pool. Uh, sorry for bringing the mood down. Can he at least use his strength?

She passed the question on and Yīng Yì thought for a moment before answering. "To a certain degree. The body cultivation I've done is still there and my training is certainly still there but without qi that only puts me slightly above a mortal warrior."

How many bandits could you kill if I freed you?

"Just the normal ones?" I confirmed. "If you could get me a weapon I'm certain I could end at least half of their lives if I was careful. ...It would take me a couple of hours, however."

I'm pretty sure I know where their armory is but I'll get back to you on that. What about you Bao Lin?

"Me?"

Yeah, do you know any magic or anything?

"Magic? I don't... Do you mean external arts? If so, then no, I do not. I am one of the Cursed." Her head drooped down as if she just admitted something shameful.

I was talking about spellcasting and stuff but that's also something I'm curious about. Why are you called cursed?

She sighed. "I guess you have not heard of us. The Cursed. That's not surprising. We're doomed existences, unable to absorb qi unconsciously like all other creatures, both big and small, do to survive or actively like cultivators. Useless weaklings destined to die before the age of twenty-five."

Ying Yi spoke up at this point, "My lady! Please don't demean yourself like that!"

"You know it's true Ying Yi! If I weren't cursed we wouldn't even be in this situation!" Bao Lin snapped back.

Letting them bicker I take a moment to think over what Bao Lin told me. I couldn't help but wonder if there are people like her back on Etheria. Only with qi instead of mana. It's possible. Ultimately I was just one person, I wouldn't have heard about something as rare as qi starvation unless it was happening to someone fairly high-ranking.

Alright. I think you can help me.

Bao Lin passed. "I can?"

Yep! We just need to deal with your mana starvation and we should be set!

Bao Lin gave me a look of confusion. "What's... mana starvation?"

Ah, right, let me explain. Mana starvation is the term used for a person who is suffering from a severe lack of mana. The worse it gets the weaker and less healthy you become. You're suffering from it.

She looked skeptical. "How do you know I'm suffering from it?"

I'm a dungeon. It's the energy I produce. I can... feel that you're attuned to it unlike everyone else.

I don't want to tell her that I can analyze people just yet. Information is a pretty powerful tool y'know?

Bao Lin's eyes widened and she desperately begged, "You produce the energy I need?! Please! Grant me some! I'll give you anything for it!"

Woah! Calm down! I can't just give you my mana!

"W-what? Why!?"

If I just gave you my mana right now you'll become 'claimed'. After that you'd probably become a monster but even if you don't you will become a part of me and be forced to do whatever I say. Like a slave.

Those words made Bao Lin freeze. Then, with a look that seems far too much like consideration, she explained the situation to Yīng Yì who, understandably, reacted as I would. "You can't genuinely be considering this my lady?! How do you know that this spirit isn't lying to you!? I've never even heard of mana before!"

Don't appreciate being called a liar but that is a good point.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take Yīng Yì! I'm going to die in just a few short years! This could-"

No.

"Huh?"

I'm not going to claim you.

"But...! Why?"

Besides the fact that I find slavery... distasteful, to say the least, I don't think it's necessary. Maybe if you were a normal person it would be due to the circumstances but you're a Witch. You just need to feel it and you should be able to absorb it. To make my mana into your mana.

I pushed my mana out of the walls, rapidly filling up the entire cell. Yīng Yì shifted uncomfortably... but Bao Lin looked like someone just shot caffeine directly into her bloodstream.

Yīng Yì looked at her in concern. "Are you alright, My Lady?"

She was speechless.

That's mana. Most people have to go through a whole process to even be able to feel it but as I said, you're a Witch, you would be able to easily feel it even if you hadn't grown up in a world completely devoid of it. Now just follow your instinct and- ow.

Turns out I didn't have to say anything. I could already feel her pulling on my mana. It didn't actually hurt very much, feeling my mana get slowly torn from me, I'd compare it to getting a small cut. More annoying than anything. Still, that was fast. Seriously, it took me ten minutes to do that and I'm a Hero. Maybe Laura, my party's Witch, was telling the truth when she said she invented her first spell at only nine years old.

Or maybe Bao Lin is just a cheater like me. Half of the reason Earthlings are so strong when summoned is that their bodies are empty receptacles for mana. And now here's a Witch, a being made for mana, who grew up equally empty. If she doesn't have a spell made by tomorrow, I'd be shocked.

Alright then. I'm going to get back to work. I hope you two have a good night. Oh, and please tell Yīng Yì what you're doing, he seems confused. See you in the morning.

Now, let's get digging!

 

[Mgunh1]

there was now a giant thing almost two and a half long and roughly as thick as a dollar coin.

Click to shrink...

Two and a half what long?
Centimetres, inches, feet, metres, yards, backyards, schoolyards?

 

[Redikai]

Two and a half what long?
Centimetres, inches, feet, metres, yards, backyards, schoolyards?

Click to shrink...

I swear, I thought I've fixed that like five times. Fixed.

 

[Logos01]

Two and a half what long?
Centimetres, inches, feet, metres, yards, backyards, schoolyards?

Click to shrink...

Clearly it was farthings.

 

[Alturangga]

This is pretty interesting.

I'm curious what is the difference between qi and mana.

 

[Arbitbit39]

Wonder if Ying Yi kill a dungeon monster it would start repairing or making a new qi circle

 

[mickeysofine]

I can't just give you my mana!

Click to shrink...

Then here, absorb it.

Click to shrink...

Clearly, he could just give her his mana.

 

[Arbitbit39]

Clearly, he could just give her his mana.

Click to shrink...

Maybe he meant that a person should take it or snatch it. From them so technically stealing it so there wont be a contract or something

 

[serra2]

Yeah, him giving her mana actively would mean he would "claim" her. So, in this case, he seems to just be actively burning mana and radiating it into the area freely, letting her grab it from the environment.

 

[Alanek]

Huh, haven't seen a xianxia dungeon before.

Looking forward to the next update.

 

[Redikai]

Maybe he meant that a person should take it or snatch it. From them so technically stealing it so there wont be a contract or something

Click to shrink...

Yeah, him giving her mana actively would mean he would "claim" her. So, in this case, he seems to just be actively burning mana and radiating it into the area freely, letting her grab it from the environment.

Click to shrink...

That's pretty much exactly what I meant. I'll edit that section to be a little clearer.

edit: chapter updated

 

[Logos01]

Huh, haven't seen a xianxia dungeon before.

Looking forward to the next update.

Click to shrink...

There's Dakota Krout's Divine Dungeon series that has cultivation in a dungeon-core setting, but as much as Dungeon and Xianxia go together like chocolate and peanut butter it's really rare to see the genres mixed.