Mana could affect creatures through nothing but exposure. The intensity and time-controlled the amount of effect it had, and the concentration did seem like it had some larger part to play as well. The Core honestly wasn't too sure how it worked yet, only knowing the main factors. There had been some theories about pollution of Mana working its way into the final product, just from what the small glance at the data told the Entity, but there was another, larger issue needing to be handled before anything.

And with larger, the Core meant larger. The [Blood-Moss] had grown enough to take up as much space as the [Moss] beside it, to the point where the two plants almost touched edges. The amount of time each had gotten to grow was a difference of almost eleven, yet the sizes had already equalled out quite well. If the Core had anything to think, it was a slight fear that it might not have been paying too much attention to what was happening around it. The growth was fine and all, yet the plant seemed quite persistent in its method of growth. While there had been no increases in speed or methods used, there was… still some form of effect on the [Giant-Ant] whose task it had been to stand still.

How long had it stood there now? Two weeks? Maybe three. It was hard to truly tell the Core more distracted from the creature looks. It had developed a slight… mutation through the period of it standing on the [Blood-Moss]. The front left leg which had been made to be [Siphoned] from at the start had gotten almost entirely enveloped into the Moss, made to be more a part of the plant than anything. It didn't directly hang on to the plants other Mass yet was still identical. It still [Siphoned] energy from the creature. The Core was surprised the ant was even standing. With so many parts being taken from, its natural regeneration shouldn't have been able to survive.

Yet it somehow had. And the Entity was not about to look away from the peculiar improvement. Instead of delving deeper into that mystery, it instead focused on the creature’s body yet again. The [Blood-Moss] was most prominent in the front end of the [Giant-Ant], the plant having done its best to envelop every patch of open space. The legs, the back, the stomach, and most of the head had all but been consumed, made to sit under the Moss. Even the mandibles had some patches sitting on it, though the biting parts were left bare. It took on genius to wonder why.

The back end of the creature hadn't been fully enveloped yet, not even the legs having been fully covered. Time had been more merciful to that part, the Moss not having near as much of it on that part of the body. The Entity wasn't sure if that was a lucky thing or not, only knowing what it could see. The [Giant-Ant] was still alive, even if it didn't move around too much. Inside, the Mana moved just as it normally did. It moved even better than it normally did, the inside-growths of the plant somehow improving the circulation abilities in the veins. Perhaps it was some trait it hadn't thought much of before or maybe there was something more to it. For now, it simply judged the two kinds of biologies to be symbiotic, helping each other along.

Or, with how the [Blood-Moss] on the ant was entirely separated from the plant on the ground, would it be better to think of the plant and creature as one instead? There was only one set of Mana-Nodes connecting it all, the outside plant having connected itself up through pure force. How that process must have hurt to do. But, it was also quite an interesting phenomenon. Normally, changes like those in the Mana-Pattern should have caused quite the distribution disturbance, yet it seemed that the plant’s ability to send over energy near-instant allowed for the weaker parts to get it through the outside instead. The paths being taken were different but they were also much better than before. An abstract but better solution overall. The Core had trouble believing it.

Character Screen

Name:

-

Gender:

Male

Level:

2

Class:

Drainer

Race:

Infested Giant-Ant

Title:

Dungeon-Born

Health:

160/160

H-Regen:

0.16/sec

Mana:

-/-

M-Regen:

0/sec

Stamina:

160/160

S-Regen:

0.15/sec

Basic Stats

Strength:

18

Wisdom:

5

Vitality:

15

Intelligence:

5

Dex:

17

Willpower:

5

It gave in to using [Appraisal] on the creature, the Entity briefly not able to fathom what it said. Another subtype had been created. Or was it even a different one? [Infested Giant-Ant] could mean many things, after all. It was more of an additional trait for a subtype than anything else, though it clearly had bonuses not seen normally. For one, the Stamina and Health generation had increased quite a bit, even if the level was still the same. That was something to think about.

The class had changed as well, removing itself from the space and moving over to an actual specialization. While the Core had wondered about that part of the status screens for a long time, never would it have guessed that adding another trait to a creature would make it into a class. And what was [Drainer] even supposed to mean?

Skill-Name

Rarity

Description

Cost

Bite

Common

Allows the user to bit with a high power

10SP

Agile-Movement

Uncommon

Allows the user to move more seamlessly

Passive

Farming

Uncommon

Allows the user to have more efficiently cultivated [Plants]

Passive

Drain

Rare

Allows the user to drain the energy of others

Passive

… [Drain] It was that, wasn't it? The skill seemed much like [Siphon], just having a more applicable name to it. That was something to think about. Why were there different names for skills that worked the same way when there was also identical names for skills that worked in different ways? Was the outcomes or method so slightly different that it didn't matter? Or did the [System] have some understanding of itself that the Core couldn't help but only believe in? Only one entity knew and it wasn't the Core.

The [Drain] ability did seem quite interesting in the new setting. For while the description was near-identical to the one used for [Siphon], the uses would be quite different. The [Infested Giant-Ant] could move around easily, of course, being much different from the [Blood-Moss] that was constricted to a single area. The ant could move around to strike while the moss was forced to lie in wait. The balances were shifted, making it easier for the ant. It could move towards the enemy to get in contact. And that was quite the bonus.

Had the maximum drain changed with the new addition? Could the [Drain] or [Siphon] skill take more energy than the other? And what reasoning was there for each being the one on top. Taking out [Drain] first, the Core tried to get into the mindset of its uses and benefits that came with it.

With movement coming into play, the ant would not need to wait for the enemy to come over to it, allowing a much more varied strategy to unfold. It needed to get close to attack, yet such a plan was already in play from the very start. The Ant could bite at the main body, letting its head come in contact with the body of the enemy and steal even more energy from it. What was the energy even used for? Perhaps just a refilling of its own. The Core wasn't exactly sure, but it was beside the point anyway. There were more important things to consider, the first all being if the strategy would even be viable.

If there was one thing that the [Blood-Moss] had over the [Giant-Ant], it would be the presence that it commanded. One did not look at moss and consider it an enemy needing to be eradicated. Moss was the kind of thing one would walk on to get to the enemy. While distracted by more important things, the moss would be able to [Siphon] energy at their preferred speed, the only possible damage being the hits taken when walked on. Nothing more than that.

The [Infested Giant-Ant] wasn't even close to being in the same boat. It was targeted, made to be seen by the enemies with ease. Never would the [Wild] ever think of vapouring a plant over the creatures before them, making it much harder to use. While the [Drain] ability would allow for energy to be taken, it would make no sense to expect prolonged contact in the same way that the moss was able to do.

This was why the Core thought the balance would require an upgrade for [Drain]. With fewer chances of contact, would it not make more sense for the gain rate to be massively increased? There was no chance of synergy, no chance of the ant growing bigger to make it impossible to not step on it. The ability to move came with the restriction not to. Staying still was the way to court death, and such would bring no effect on the life of the enemy, other than granting them another level of strength.

So the [Drain] was superior in a numbers game and in its versatility of use, yet was still balanced with the lesser [Siphon]? On paper, it made close to no sense, yet the thought behind it made it a reality worth thinking about. And, to truly make sense of it all, the Core would try it out.

Disengaging the [Infested] creature from the moss below, a series of tests came along. Within a certain time frame, where both parties could have constant contact, how much energy would be taken away from a creature? It was an easy question to have yet quite the hard one to answer without first testing it out.

Two [Giant-Ants] were brought over, both being at level two and at full health. Each had One hundred and forty Health-Points in total, making them quite formidable in combat since they were able to take so many hits. However, how much could be taken away in a few seconds of contact? To make it more precise, how much health could be taken in the span of ten seconds?

The Core wanted to know just that. Positioning both ants to touch one of the aforementioned bearers of draining-related skills, the clock was started, both parties getting in contact within the minute. It was beautiful, seeing the Mana in stellar detail move throughout the bodies of those contacted. It seemed as if both skills could latch onto the networks of Mana-Veins, using the natural method of moving Mana around for their gain. Instead of forcing it out a quickly as possible, it instead diverted flows. It was a more peaceful way of gathering the energy, one that likely aided it in meeting lacking resistance. One would not think much about a small change in their gut, but a sharp pain would be seen to within the same second. It was warfare built on small changes.

Yet those changes were more effective on different fronts. The [Drain] reached deeper than [Siphon] could ever want, redirecting the very centre organ to give more Mana to the bearer of the skill while [Siphon] could only hope to manipulate the outsides. It was a formidable opponent nonetheless, both getting quite the amounts out in the time frame given.

But when those ten seconds had passed, both ants getting away at the same time to avoid cheating, the winner was determined quite quickly. The [Siphon] was able to take fifteen Health-Points in the span of ten seconds, putting the count down to a one-point-five Health-Points per second. When factoring in the length of the Moss and the distance needed to be crossed, the Core was sure it would be formidable in the future.

Yet there was also the [Drain] skill. And it was higher up in the count that the Core could have ever guessed. The Entity had known from the start that the normally shortened exposure-time would equal a more effective means of gathering Energy over but never had it expected a total quite so high. Coming in at fifty Health-Points taken away in ten seconds, it came out to be a whopping five Health taken away every single second of contact. It was more than triple the previous count. And the Entity was more than just surprised by it, forced to look on for more than a minute to make sure the counts had not been wrong at some point. But, alas, there were no faults in the method. [Drain] had come out as superior fair and square with no doubt to spew on in any way.

But, again, these counts did not mean much in a realistic situation. Constant contact was only possible with one of the skill-bearers, the [Infested Giant-Ant] likely unable to keep the reach for more than a few moments a time. However… what would happen when the other ant was wounded.

Like it had been seen many times before, the creatures liked to go for the front legs, the act being more than able to stop the enemies from moving around all too well. And if three legs were taken care of, the victory was assured, one being able to just walk to the other side and slice them open from the back. And the [Infested Giant-Ant] would still be able to do that and more. In those moments, there would be no chance at the enemy gathering to combat it. There would be no consequences of having prolonged contact.

How low was an ant usually when it came down to three legs? A hundred health in total? Maybe eighty. It all depended on what other injuries had been sustained as well, the full health counter largely based on the state of the internal organs. Yet a hundred health could still be drained in a matter of just twenty seconds. With that Energy in place, it could be converted for the [Infested] creature’s gain. It could gain lost health, could put back the expended Stamina and move on in a fight without the Dungeon needing to do anything. It was perfect in theory. It just needed to be tried out.

… But there were no enemies around. No creatures could be killed to make sure it worked. There were only allies, only those that had fought hard to keep the dungeon alive. The Core was grateful for what each had done, for what they had sacrificed for the cause of making sure it would live another day. There were no others that had done as much and there likely wouldn't ever be.

But the Entity needed more from them. It needed more than their loyalty. At that moment, it needed them to give their lives. Only one or two. The Core was sure that the promised gain afterwards would outweigh the costs at the current time. The gains from having another strategy that worked on the enemy, one that stopped the Entity from constantly having to give the Mana back to the creatures in a desperate bid to let them survive? It was without value, too high for the Core to truly define. It knew that it was better than anything it had at the current moment, however.

And that gain needed to be had. Looking at the two creatures that were sitting by, waiting to see if they would need to be used for testing again, the Core did feel some sort of pity. At the very least, they would be able to fight, not forced to feel their structure slowly unravel. NO nerves would be burned this time. A fair fight was all that would be had, though one where a new strategy would be implemented.

Emptying a patch of land for the fight, setting up the [Infested] ant on one side and the regular ant on the other, the Core gave the orders, and the two fought tooth and nail.