《Down the Deep Blue Hole》Volume 1 Chapter 16: I still have green fingers
Advertisement
I regret my life decisions. I mean, yes the beelflowers were a huge hit but, at what costs. Now I am going to stuck with this yandere dungeon for the rest of my life now. Yeap, relationship status with bee dungeon is now at "Trusted", MAX reputation points. I wanna cry..... To all those who are wondering why we haven't moved on to the "Oathsworn" status yet, read the name again. We are in no way sworn to each other, meaning that we are not Oathsworn. Real life is really different from those games huh.
Aaanyways, the beelflower was a huge fail-success. I have managed to once again improve the food supply of the bees, who by now have simply left the fungi to dry. Seriously, they are going to go extinct you know? You still have to care for your creatures you know? *Sigh* Never mind, this one handful of a dungeon can go suck a.........beelflower. What did you think I was going to say? Hm?
Right, following the 'spectacular' success of the beelflowers, which by the way have somehow managed to incorprate themsleves into my current so called ecosystem. It's just a bunch of plants honestly. They kind of hybridised themselves with the manaberry flowers, so when they initially simply just spreading seeds with somthing similar to a blueberry bunch, they have become much better now. Now, they are the only flowers you will find in my dungeon, the rest have lost out in this selection. The white orchid looking flower was now pink at the tips, with one more very small petal at the top (the flower is sideways so yeah) which sort of shelters the stigma. The flower requires full on support from the bees (or a very bored largot) to be polliniated, which is kind of not what I wanted but hey I'm not complaining. The best part? I can now harvest manaberries in bunches, around five of those per bunch.
[Manaberry] Requires: {external aid in pollination},{water},{soil},{mana}. Production Rate: {5/12Hrs}. An extremely sweet and nourishing berry borne by a beelflower.
Juuuiiicy! Now, I still have lots of time, so let's carry on with some more experimentation. We have so much good results from experimentation don't we? Right, now onto the next splice. Actually.... no. I wish to create a new plant. Multiple actually. Ooohh my creativity cap is on! Grind those gears and get going! Make a list of the plants we need.
Food Production [minimal achieved] [Manaberry](vakiolum) Diplomatic [do not proceed any further] [Beelflower] Defensive [not in demand but completely absent] - Offense [not in demand but completely absent] - Supportive [minimal achieved] [Manaleaf] Utility [not in demand but completely absent] - Monster {1/20}
Right, from the looks of this, I need my defenses and offenses stat. Defensive plants can double as utility, so that should be fine for now. Let me see, I would first need a hanging plant with vine-like structures, a plant that can hide and house my larvae, hopefully some toxic plants as well.
Welp, it's time to use our great friend, Domain Manipulation. Not that I have the skill, but this should help a little. Let's get one of my vakiolum seeds lying around (from the berries), aaand hup.
I dove into the seed. No, I'm serious. It's that toilet bowl thing again, just that this time it's more like an elevator, since I do not enter the seed, but rather simply inside the seed to observe it. .. .. Gah! It's hard to explain. So right now I'm staring at the seed, no, the fully grown plant. The seed will grow into a healthy vakiolum, bear beelflowers and eventually die. That's fine and all but.... I don't want that.
Advertisement
So the first thing I did was turn the plant upside-down. The plant will now be anchored not on the floor but the ceiling. It would grow strong roots, very strong roots, capable of holding on to the stone up till a whole 5 kg of wieight. It would grow multiple long vines with short leaves at fairly regular intervals, eventually allowing the vines to touch the ground. Once they reach the ground, long and thin roots would spread out, drawing in nutrients from the soil. Their flowers would be high up to avoid competition, but it would also be a lot smaller to compensate for its slight lack of nutrients.
Congratulations! Through manipulating your domain and concentrating your influence, you have delved deeper into the secrets of this path. [Domain Manipulation]: {4/5}. You have unlocked a (Vine) variation to your Vakiolum. It can be added to the seed at no additional cost.
Perfect. Now select that and splice it with a sticktrap seed.
Vakiolum(vine) seed Sticktrap seed (collect product here)
Now begin manual splicing! The power! The potential! All possible because of me! Yay me!
Focus.... We need to caaarefully set this thing up now. We do not want this to be non-beneficial to us, but we still want to keep those features that can be. Tough choices man. Firstly, the grass is completely out of the sticktrap. Gone! Here is the interesting part. I can make the leaves of my plant sticky, BUT that would also mean that my dear larva and the bees can get caught in it as well. I need a way to counteract that. I don't see a friendly fire off button, so I guess I will have to do it myself. I think the most important thing is to make sure that the leaves are not sticky all the time. I made it such that they were able to control the secretion of the sticky fluid. Thus, when time comes for a Dungeon Battle, I can immediately get them to make their leaves sticky and slow down the enemies. Next up, a self defense mechanism. I mean, sure they already have the leaves but, I need to make them perfect. Once they are suddenly pulled by a large force (generally at 4.5 kg), their roots will immediately loosen up and the entire plant falls down. Then, even on the vines there will be sticky fluid, allowing the plant to entrap whatever was the cause. The plant would also release a pheromone when doing so such that all nearby vines would do the same as well. That will hopefully give the troublemaker no chance to escape. 10kg should be their limit for the falling sticky net. Yes, go! I shall call it the vakiolum variation [sticknet] for their last resort reaction. Through time, they probable would develop better versions of these skills but for now, this will do.
Seeds Spliced! You are now able to purchase [Sticknet Vakiolum(vine)] in the Catalogue at [15 DP] each. The seed cannot be spliced yet. Mature Time: [5 days]. Requires: {Mana},{Water},{Soil}
Wowee! That is one heck of a deal! Let's get, like, 20 of them stat! Ok, now we chuck them at the ceiling and all should be ok. [1900 DP], still looking good.
Next up! We need to have a somewhat poisonous plant. Just so happens that I know of a treacherous ground which readily has venom availible. *Sigh* Life is harsh.
"Honey came again! I'm so happy! But darling doesn't look too well, have you been having enough rest? Dungeons need to rest too OK? Take care of your health, alright? Wait, what if I just take care of honey when he is-kyaaa!"
Advertisement
"First off. I'm completely fine, so get your delusion of me out of your mind. Next, I need some venom. I wonder if you could spare me som-"
"Hurry! Get the Elite Soldier Bees right now! Get them to test their venom, I need the strongest dose of venom right now! Ha? They are busy? Tell them to drop it, my orders." Oi, oi. No need to go so far. I just need a small sample right now. He-Hello? Are you even listening? Oi!
That was.... awful. At least I got my samples now. *Haaaaa* Give me back my peaceful life. Alright, now we need to somehow incorprate this into a seed. Hmmmmm. I could also incorprate this into my larva as well. A poison team? That sounds good. I'm just going to casually grab 5 of those eggs and see if I can incorprate venom into them. I'll do my larva first, then the plants.
First off, I used my domain manipulation again, zoom down the elevator into the egg. I sensed the pulsing life force in the egg, one that will soon hatch into a larva. So, I decided to give these five a small head start. I took a nice portion of my bee venom and saturated them with mana. Pure mana. The now throbbing with energy venom flowed in my grasps just like mana did, so I slowly poured it into the eggs. The venom immediately started to act and began to kill the still developing embryo. But I did not panic. I cannot. With a steady hand, I guided the venom to not destroy, but join with the larval embryo. It resisted my directions, it did not want to join. It was not meant to join, it was meant for only one, one that would use it to defend its home. But I suggested otherwise, for I too, will use this venom to defend my home. I will not use this venom. I would use mine. I filled the venom with even thicker mana, condensed and pulsing. I willed it, willed it to change. To flow like water, yet sting like the fire. A composite mana, Poison Mana. A milky green, very similar to the colour of chlorine gas. Honey bee venom is an irritant, causing inflamation and anti-coagulation. Very effective in deterring, not so effective in killing. It can, but only in large amounts. It was meant for the hive to stand together and overwhelm their foe. My larvae would not. They must stand alone and fight. To utilize whatever means they had to outsmart their enemy, to wait, to ambush, to retreat and wait again. Their venom was their weapon, their ally, their lifeline. The venom slowly broke down into venom mana, infusing and incoperating into the larvae. I smiled. They would be a wonderful addition to my armada.
Wonderful! You have made excellent use of mana manipulation of incoperate an element into raw mana. You have managed to manually procure a composite mana. You have managed to incorperate mana into your monsters. With deeper understanding, you now delve deeper into the secrets of this path. [Mana Manipulation]: {6/10}
Pooooose! I did it! Soon, I shall be unstoppable! Invincible! Muahahaha*cough*! Okay, on to the plants.
Using the same technique, I turned the venom into poison mana and allowed it to be incorporated into the vakiolum. This is, by the way, a non-flowering one. My other dungeon monsters have no poison resisting capabilites, so doing this and causing the leaching of toxins into the other plants is pretty bad. Either way, long story short, I got this result.
You have unlocked a variation to your vakiolum. The (toxic) variation can be added to your seed at the cost of [15 DP]. (Toxic): The vakiolum now contains mild toxins that act as a inhibitor in the respiration pathway. It's not lethal in small amounts, but the same cannot be said otherwise. It is possible to develope resistance towards this toxin.
That is... rather expensive. Welp, we'll get 16 of them for now an even our DP balance at [1500 DP]. Hmmm, I can't really think of anything else to do.... Oh! The tree!
Let's quickly splice it with a vakiolum seed, and see the results. Cool, trees are so much more different compared to little plants. The way they grow, the way they take root, it is all so different. I'm afraid I'm losing confidence in this one. Gaaaah. Focus me! The greatest dungeon master needs a good tree! Think of a tree! Hmmmm, let's imagine a tree. An apple tree, a mango tree, a pear tree, all the fruits. Waaah, the all look soo delicious. I would like the tree to have, say, many thick main branches but the other ones a little thinner. I would, I would like the leaves to be nice and large, a little like a heart shape.
Oh my! Why not just make the tree grow its own vines! This is a fantasy world anyways, might as well go all out. I'm bored as crap from all that serious stuff. Lemme do something fun for a change. Let's make the tree's centre trunk so thick that it's centre is hollow. Yes, and there would be holes leading to this empty space above most of the large main branches. Let it take shape.... It would look fairly similar to an umbrella, like those pine tree's shape but a lot fatter at the bottom. The vines would bear the flowers, which will look like bleeding hearts from my past life. Ooohhh, this is looking good! Some of the vines would droop to the floor, just like the vine version of the current vakiolum. For reproduction wise, it's definitely got to be fruit. Lots of fruit. All the varieties that I can imagine right now. Heck, make it grow strawberries and cherries as well. No, make the flowers accept any pollen from fruit bearing flowers. This way, any other fantasy fruit can be produced as well. But we need more, throw more onto this tree. I'm blowing a lot of DP on this, gotta make it count. It's sap would be very useful, I don't have a concrete idea on how, so I'm just going to tell it to be useful. The leaves got to be different as well, denoted by their coloration. Some when ground into pulp would be a potent toxin, some when consumed will give a huuuge burst of energy, some when boiled will produce a broth that has healing abilites, some can be used as antidotes and sooooo much more. Creativity is OP! Heck, make it grow lights as well, and make it able to house larvae as well. Add this, add that! No, that has got to go.... it's useless.
*Phew* That was quite the ordeal. I spent literally half a day customizing my tree to the most minute of detail. I completely lost count on what I had put in. Ohhh boy this is going to be sweet. Finish the Splicing! Let me see the final product! Huh? I fee.l...sl..e...e...p...y.....
*#% [email protected] in^[email protected] *#% Requ&ire *#% Unstabl~[email protected] Commence. Generating...... Animus depleted. warning Animus depleted. Utilising all availible resources..
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have never drunk before in my life. So can someone please tell me, am I drunk? Cause my core is definitely smaller compared to before and I have a splitting headache. Gaargh! It hurts. My brain feels like someone took a jackhammer and slammed right into it. It's called a hangover right? Hm? Wait, what is that? *Gasp* My tree! It's ready!
[*#% Tree]: A tree of unknown origin created by a dungeon. Possesing features that many would kill to acquire, this tree is close to being omnipotent. It's seeds are only capable of inheriting some of its qualities, thus making this plant unique. This tree is of an unknown rarity. The seed of this tree cannot be spliced. The full extent of its abilites are unknown. Cost: [X Animus]. Mature Time: [Minimal 100 years]. Requires: [unknown].
Eh? Errrr, okay? This is getting weird. Why in the world is there garbles in the blue boxes? Hello administrator? Fix your boxes! Jeez. I guess I'll have to ask that bee lady again for this. I really am starting to rely on her a little huh. I mean, she is really nice if you do take away her yandere tendencies. Her voice sounds very pleasing too.
"HONEY! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Hey, pipe down. My hair and ears are flapping from the gust again.
"Nothing much. I tried to splice a tree and *bam* I fell asleep. No biggie here."
"No biggie my foot! Dungeons do not enter such a deep sleep so easily. They only do that when they need to restore a major functional error in their system, its called hibernation. But the thing is, you did not hibernate! What happened? What did you do?"
"Ehhh, what do you mean by I did not hibernate?"
"When a dungeon hibernates, all the monsters and creatures still continue as per normal. When you fell asleep, as you say, all your creatures and monsters simply flopped and did not move for a whole 2 weeks! 2 weeks!"
What! I was asleep for 2 weeks?! Wait, what about my monsters and plants? If they did not move it meants that they are...
"I helped you feed them, no need to worry, darling. So tell me, what exactly did you do?" I'm getting the chills. Like the kind a cheating husband gets found out by his wife without knowing he got found out, and the wife is super angry at him.
"I just spliced a tree, simple as that."
"Explain to me, then, why was the dungeon core that you acquired completely gone, with your crystal core now a quater of its original size."
Gufua! What! A quater? Isn't that like, really bad? "What do you mean by the other dungeon core completely gone."
"Check you inventory. Your Animus as well."
No way! The ant dungeon core is really gone, all that's left is the 25 gems and...... [0 Animus]?!
"I had to inject you all the Animus I had, you know. Couldn't even get to enjoy it properly. You owe me one, okay honey? One time of core to core direct Animus transfer. Seriously, what did you do that took [8000 Animus]?"
E-Eh-EHHHHHHH?!?!? Firstly, I had to use so much animus? Oh my god, I can't repay you that, it's too much. You probably saved my life too, judging from the fact that my core is tiny now. You even fed my monsters and kept my creatures alive. I need to thank you, so much. No wait, why does the transfer sound eerily similar to mouth to mouth? Erm...
"Honey. Honestly, you have to warn me when you this kind of thing okay? It is alright to rely on me, we are more than just friends alright? I'll do anything for my darling and he would do anything for me, isn't that right? So next time, don't just fall asleep like that, okay? Oh! Darling~! I managed to make something real nice! Hold on for a second. La la la~"
Hmmm. That is quite the information overload. Judging from the fact that she also knows about dungeons extensively, and the fact that she saved my life, I think I can confide in her for this one. I mean, yan-yan will keep your secret safe no matter what! Even if it means that yan-yan will kill, yan-yan will still do it for you! This kind of yandere logic..... strangely doubles my confidence in her.
"So I was wondering, do you know what these red gems are?-" "Darling~ Look! It's Exotic Jelly-"
Welp, a bee had flown into the larva I was possesing (which was the seeded larvack) and knocked the red gem into the jelly. For a moment, me and her both kind of laughed at the funny thing that happed, but as I reached out for the gem.
...
....
....
It dissolved.
Advertisement
- In Serial79 Chapters
My Quiet Life
In a world where rank, blood-ties and religion are intertwined; Silika Everest lived an idyllic life as the third child of the Marquess of Oblon, spending her time causing trouble for the estate servants and playing with her siblings to her heart's content. Until a fateful day when a game of hide and seek turned into tragedy. When she woke up, her life had turned on its head, everything she had now slipping away from her. That day her quiet life began— an unforgiving life where all odds are stacked against her. **************** Hi there! This is my first webnovel story! I hope you will enjoy it and help me make it better! I try to keep my chapter lenghts between 1,500-2,500 words The story will follow Silika, the young daughter of an aristocratic count who becomes handicapped and must adapt to a world not designed for people in her situation. She will have to struggle through her disability, religion, family, abuse, trauma and politics. The world will not be kind to her, but she will find her place. The tone is a bit darker at times in this story, but not in 'edgy' or 'grimdark' way. They reflect the main character's struggles. There will be happy times, funny times, but also sad times and painful time. The main character will grow and learn in what I hope will be a very interesting experience for you all to read!
8 289 - In Serial12 Chapters
『Master Of Centipedes』
Every night, when he rested on his bed and looked back on his way of life. He discovered nothing but regrets. But what could he do then? He was now old and out of time—he could do nothing but accept his life choices and pray that he acquire enough wisdom to experience life with little regrets in the next life. Life is cruel. Everyone faces mishaps, sorrows, and tragedies, which in turn give birth to regrets. 『Master Of Centipedes』 is a story of a king who lived his entire life, caged in the misery of regrets but received a second chance in life. Once a king, now a pupil inside a sect. This time, will he be able to live a life any different from before? Note: He doesn't reincarnate as a centipede. Instead, he's a being who can control centipedes. But, the insects will evolve.
8 184 - In Serial7 Chapters
Badass
At the end of everything, Taylor Hebert realized something. She didn't want to be a superhero. No, she wanted to be a badass. And then her prayers were answered. Imbued with the power of mimetic badassery and the ability to channel a different real-life badass every week, she set out in search for all the best things in life - well, according to Conan, at least. Modeling herself after Conan have been a mistake. Join her on her high-octane, pulp-fiction journey for vengeance, adventure, victory and mayhem. This isn't just uncensored. It's anti-censored! =========================== (Worm/Fate/Badass of the Week) Warning: crack-taken-seriously, over-the-top pulp-fiction style violence, overpowered protagonist, banned on two other sites. Hell, even the light-hearted omake jokes in this were considered too subversive to persist. ============================ AN: There’s this really, really excellent website called Badass of the Week. I’ve wasted many an hour browsing through, marveling at all the crazy shit some humans are capable of. Check it out, then come back and read this in a few days when the awesome starts to wear off. It’s worth it (all 576 entries). Back? Good! Anyways, I was looking through it recently while thinking about who I wanted to make expy’s of for my The Flying Dutchman quest ship captains (which now languishes in indefinite hiatus), and I had this idea. What if Taylor, wanting to be a badass, triggered with the power to be a different Badass every week? With a bit of Fate-style ability to draw on the tools associated with the legend (but to a just marginally less ridiculous degree), and a drive and aura to be and do badass? And thus, Badass was born in it’s somewhat cracky glory. Enjoy.
8 188 - In Serial24 Chapters
Maverick Engineer Saga
Arjun, a first-year college student, dies because of a freak mishap and reincarnates in ancient India. Can he survive a harsh life in the ancient era without the needed skill set? Can he come to bear the loss of loved ones? Fate flings various questions and, most important of all, why did he reincarnate? Disclaimer: This story is about a modern man ill-equipped for his time in ancient India. The story delves into the realm of believability instead of wish fulfilment, with a healthy dose of supernatural elements, so no, overpowered MC. The picture is of a placeholder and does not belong to me. If I become rich or the readers donate to it, I would replace the picture. Author note: If you find errors, let me know.
8 241 - In Serial181 Chapters
Bleen Fada - The Legendary Pathfinder
It had been decades since dreams started to kill. Today, it's finally over.Mahon was once a general and an impressive warrior. In his dreams. In Nightmare. There, he put an end to the war that plagued mankind for decades. In the real world, however, the war has been raging for millenia, and Mahon is weak, his body frail from all his years spent dream-fighting. But it's time for a new beginning. In a world he knows almost nothing about, he will struggle to climb back to power, a necessity if he wants to achieve his goal. But he doesn’t lack willpower. And he already reached the highest ranks before. Who is to say he can’t do it again? That is, if the Fada let it be… This story takes place in a medieval fantasy world. Swords and schemes are the common ways to assert your place among the powerful. This story follows Mahon on his journey back to power. Not a simple one, as he will uncover some of the deepest mysteries that had been buried deep down along the ages. As of now, 98% of my chapters are through Mahon’s PoV and I want to keep it that way. There will be no unending PoV swaps for multiple chapters. Although war/conflict is one of the main themes, it’s not really a story about war. Instead, expect fights, plots, foreshadowing, progression and adventure from these chapters. It’s my first time publishing a book, and English is not my native language. I hope you will enjoy the story and that you’ll be indulgent enough to point out my mistakes with kindness. I wish to grow as a better writer and provide something that will make you cheer for, and shiver in anticipation. As long as you’re not, it means there is something to improve. Note: It's a slow progression fantasy, and some have raised complaints about the depressing tones and slowness in some of the first chapters. Rest assured, it soon disappears as Mahon progresses. Release schedule : M/W/F at 6:12 am GMT+2
8 995 - In Serial35 Chapters
Through His Eyes
What do you think would happen if you started seeing glimpses through your soulmate's eyes, knowing you're due to meet them in a week?[Book #1 of The Soulmate Series]© felicitate | 2015
8 171

